


Winter Love

by Piero217



Category: Frozen (2013), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-02
Updated: 2015-10-22
Packaged: 2018-03-20 20:04:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 24,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3663189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Piero217/pseuds/Piero217
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A 14-year old Jamie convinces Jack to meet his new girlfriend and her older sister. But the girls' family hides a deep secret, and little does Jack know that this encounter will both endanger his life and the fun he protects in children... and bring back the memories of a long lost love...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: First Day of Winter

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I know that there are more than enough Jelsa fics to go around, but this idea came to me the other day and I decided to give it a shot. Hopefully this is something that nobody has come up with so far.
> 
> Be warned: This is not gonna be your everyday Jelsa fic. There will be romance, and there will be drama, but the ending might turn out to be a sort of Shakesperean kind of thing. Just so you know.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Frozen or Rise of the Guardians... sadly.

My favorite place? Hmm, that’s a tough one…

Just kiddin’. That’s a no-brainer, actually.

I’ve been all over the world, visited many wonderful places, seen the most amazing landscapes. Some of them could use a bit of white from time to time, but my powers can only do so much. After all, if I tried to bring a snowy weather to places like the Sahara or the Amazon, I would probably cause an irreversible disaster on a global scale. Or not. I’d rather not find out anytime soon. Don’t ask me how, but I just know that I must not mess with the world’s natural balance, or the consequences would be quite unpleasant.

Hey, I told you not to ask me how!

But anyway, I’m getting a bit off track. My favorite place, without a doubt, is Burgess, a small town in Pennsylvania, USA. Why? Well, there are plenty of reasons. I was born and raised there before I became a spirit. I was reborn there. I became a Guardian in that place. And of course, my best friend and first believer lives there. His name is Jamie, and he is one exceptional kid.

My name is Jack Frost, Winter Spirit and Guardian of Fun. And today is the first day of winter.

Now, the science of it is really boring, but if you must know, winter officially begins in the Northern Hemisphere during the winter solstice—not counting the regions beyond the Arctic Circle where I’ve already introduced winter a month ago—which occurs at a specific time, not just day. This means that in order to introduce winter, I have to fly around the Earth at a speed of about… man, I don’t know. _Real_ fast, I think? It’s more or less like what Superman did in that 70s film, except that I don’t travel back in time.

At least I have the advantage of being a spirit. It makes things a lot easier, as a regular human wouldn’t survive traveling at such speed. Thankfully, I only have to do it every once in a while during the next three months. That leaves me with enough spare time to bring fun—and _have_ fun—in certain places where and when it’s needed… and sometimes where and when it isn’t.

What can I say? I’m a prankster at heart.

Anyway, tomorrow I’ll visit Jamie. The kid probably could use a good snowball fight.

* * *

I arrive at Burgess at midday and find Jamie sitting at the porch of his house, his head resting on his hands and his rather soft gaze lost into the void. I feel tempted to throw a snowball at him, but then I think of something else to let him know that I’m here. I land as carefully and quietly as possible behind him.

“Somebody looks really dreamy,” I say, making him jump.

“Jack!” he says, spinning around to give me a tight hug.

“Hey, kiddo,” I reply, returning the hug. “How’re you doin’?”

“I’m great. How about you?”

“Oh, you know,” I say, letting go of him and holding my staff behind my neck with both hands. “Having lots of fun here and there. Now, will you tell me why you’re acting like a happy zombie today?”

Jamie doesn’t answer. He just sighs, smiling.

I think I know what’s going on here. It’s been 4 years since I became a Guardian, and Jamie is now 14. That means puberty, hormonal changes, and whatnot. _And…_

“What’s her name?” I ask teasingly, smirking.

“Karin,” he replies without hesitation, sighing again.

I rarely see this kind of stuff happen during winter. It’s supposed to happen more often during spring—though I’m still to understand how a lonely sourpuss like Bunny manages to do that when he brings summer along with Easter—but I guess it _can_ occur at any time of the year. I bet he thinks this Karin girl is and will be his one and only true love. Any boy that’s fallen in love at that age believes that, or at least boys with a heart like Jamie’s. I wouldn’t want to break it by telling him otherwise, even though most of the times it’s true.

Well, he was the first one to believe in me. I guess I should believe in him too and hope for the best. Who knows? There _are_ a few marriages that started as a couple at a very young age. Maybe Jamie and his… friend could be among those few.

“You have to meet her older sister!” Jamie exclaims all of a sudden, interrupting my train of thought. “I’m sure she’ll like you, and you two would make such a—”

“Whoa, hold on a second. When did the subject change from Karin to Karin’s sister?”

“Just now,” he replies naturally.

I laugh at his childish antics. This kid could grow old and never stop having a child’s heart. They say that children stop believing in us Guardians at a certain age, but I don’t think Jamie will. In fact, his friends have all stopped seeing me by now, while he still does. There must be some exceptions to that rule.

“I appreciate your effort to make me meet a girl, Jamie, but you know that older kids and teenagers can’t see me.”

“She just might if you help me convince her. You could throw her one of your magical snowballs and—”

“Convince her?” I chuckle. “Who am I, Pitch Black? I can’t force her to believe. And even if she _did_ believe, I’m not really interested in a relationship of that kind.” I fear my reply has been a bit blunt.

“What? Are you telling me you’ve never been in love?”

“Never in my 300 years as the Winter Spirit,” I say proudly.

Jamie seems shocked by my answer, but the reason is pretty simple. I spent most of those 300 years worrying more about being seen by _everyone_ than only by a single person whom I would’ve outlived anyway. And now that I’m a Guardian, I still think of it that way, though at least most children can see me now.

“Come on, Jack. At least humor me and come with me today to Karin’s so you can meet them both.”

I sigh and raise my hands in defeat. “I guess I can do that. But only if you and I have a really good snowball fight with them later on.”

“Deal.”

* * *

About two hours later, Jamie and I are standing at Karin’s porch. The nameplate at the side of the door reads ‘The Vinters’. That’s not a very common surname in America. I look at Jamie and raise an eyebrow.

“Her family just moved in from Europe,” he shrugs.

He knocks somewhat shyly. While we wait, I give him a gentle shove in the shoulder.

“Hey, relax,” I tell him, trying to calm him down. “You’re just going skating to the lake. It’s not like you’re getting married today or something like that.”

“Married?!” he squeals.

_Ups._ Not exactly the intended effect.

“You get my point,” I tell him with a wink.

The door opens, and a cute brunette girl with hazel eyes and a smile that Tooth would love to see from up close greets Jamie with a peck on the cheek. He blushes a bit. Then she looks at me, and her jaw drops.

“Jack Frost?”

I furrow my brow. This doesn’t happen very often, even though kids have been seeing me more easily since I became a Guardian—and even then, they need to see my work first, such as a good snow day or snowballs appearing out of nowhere. Besides, she must already be at the age limit in which regular children still can see us.

“You are Jack Frost!” the girl exclaims. “Jamie has told me so much about you!”

I turn to Jamie with slightly narrowed eyes.

“I… may have told her about my adventure with you and the Guardians,” he says.

“Of course you did,” I reply teasingly.

“Oh, my sister’s gonna want to meet you!” the girl says. “I’ll leave her a note to join us at the lake when she returns.”

And before I can react to what she’s just said, she runs back into the house. Jamie and I look at each other, puzzled.

What just happened? First Jamie, and now his friend? What could possibly make them believe that a teenager might see me?

Karin returns within the minute and literally drags Jamie away from the house and towards the road that leads to the lake. I trail closely behind and watch them as they start talking and laughing. Once we arrive, they take some time to put on their skates. I can’t help a smile while I hear them chatting. From what I’ve been listening so far, Karin sounds like she has the heart of a true believer, just like Jamie. They _may_ be for one another, after all.

“They look lovely together,” a feminine voice says behind me. “Then again, which couple of kids doesn’t look cute at that age?”

I turn around, a bit startled, and find myself staring into a pair of ice blue eyes belonging to a young girl with pale skin and long platinum blonde hair tied up in a ponytail behind her back. And she looks strikingly beautiful…

Wait. Where did that come from?

I quickly push the thought aside. There’s no point in trying to start a conversation with a gorgeous girl who can’t—

“What? Is there a bug in my face or something?”

I feel my heart skip a beat. There’s no one else around us, and she spoke directly at me. In fact, she doesn’t seem to be looking _through_ me at all.

“You… you can see me?” I ask disbelievingly.

“Of course I can. Why wouldn’t I?” the girl replies with a smile.

This girl can see me! But how? Aside from Jamie, no person older than twelve or thirteen has ever seen me. What makes this girl so special… so different?

“Who _are_ you?” I wonder out loud.

“Oh, sorry. I’m Lizette. Nice to meet you, Jack,” she replies, offering her hand.

My bafflement only grows. “How do you…” _know my name?_ I intend to ask, but then I remember that Karin left a note for her sister in which she probably also wrote my name, so I guess that this girl must be Karin’s sister.

That doesn’t change the fact that this teenager _can_ see me. How in the world can she see me?

“Wow. Jack Frost is speechless. That has to be a first.”

_What?!_

“Don’t worry,” she says, lowering her hand. She doesn’t seem offended by my rudeness of not accepting it. “You’ll be talking with fluidity again in no time, once things are clear enough for you.”

She winks at me and runs off towards the lake, leaving me utterly stunned. _What. Just. Happened?!_

“Hey!” Lizette calls out to me. “Aren’t you the Guardian of Fun? ‘Cause you seem rather dull right now.”

I snap out of it to see her skating gracefully along with the kids. When did she put her skates on? I suppose I’ve even lost all sense of time and that I’ve been standing like a fool for a while. She has promised me that things will become clear for me soon enough. Maybe I should trust her? But in any case, she’s just challenged me, and that’s something that I can’t let pass, no matter how confused I may be right now. My fun side takes over, and I lift off from the ground, flying above the lake.

I make it snow a little to add a bit of winter charm to this moment. Then I look down—and watch in horror as Lizette suddenly trips and falls, causing the ice to crack. Jamie and Karin freeze in place, and even from so up high, I can see the look of terror in their faces.

I fly down as fast as I can. I already save my sister from drowning once, and I didn’t even have the power that I have now. I _have_ to save those kids.

I break my fall roughly ten feet from the ground and get in an upright position in order to land gently on my feet and fill the cracks with ice to make the lake surface solid again…

…but before my toes can even touch the shattering ice, the cracks disappear.

“Whoa, that was close. Thanks, Jack!” Jamie says, his terrified expression fading away almost instantly.

I nod, though I know that I can’t take the credit for this. I look at Lizette who is still on the ground and offer her my hand to help her stand—and I don’t fail to notice that her fingertips are touching the ice in a… sort of peculiar way. She takes my hand…

And then I know.

I can sense it.

She has ice powers like me.

My eyes widen while she gives me a soft smile and a shrug.

_Who is she, indeed?_


	2. The Girl with Ice Powers

“Come on, Jamie! Let’s see if you can finally beat my high score!” Karin says, once again dragging the boy into the living room.

I chuckle as he turns on the gaming console while she searches for the proper disc to insert in the tray. Jamie told me that they’ve known each other for only a few months, and that they became friends almost instantly. I guess then that this isn’t the first time he’s been here. He moves around the place like this is his own house.

We’ve just returned from the lake after our little ‘incident’. I take a look around. The girls’ house is quite cozy. There’s a lot of blue and white on the walls, which most people would consider not very warm or welcoming, but for me, it’s just perfect. Almost like home.

It’s not enough to make me forget what happened in the lake, though.

“Ah, a dancing videogame,” Lizette says as she passes by me and walks towards the stairs, looking at the younger kids get set in front of the console’s motion sensor. “Last week they played a sports game, also with the sensor. My sister is a master in those games. I imagine Jamie prefers other genres like FPSs and stuff like that.”

_Actually, he’s fonder of the adventure genre but is quite good at this type of games, too_ , I say within me. But I can’t bring myself to voice my thoughts with her. We’ve just met, but she already makes me feel uneasy. Well, it’s not _she_ who makes me feel like that as much as her _ice powers_. My head is still trying to sort that out. How can a _human_ —a _living_ human—have the same powers as me?

“Jaaaack,” Lizette singsongs. “I don’t bite, you know?”

“What?” I hear myself say, snapping out of it and realizing that she’s been waiting for me at the base of the stairway.

“I said, ‘Come with me’. The kids could use some privacy, and I’ve got something to show you.”

This time, though I’ve heard her plain as day, I stay right where I am. Part of me is not entirely willing to trust her, which is weird because, I mean, she’s _like_ me. Shouldn’t that put my mind at ease?

Lizette looks at me, arms crossed, but with a grin on her face. “You can come with me and learn about your past today, or you can stay down here if you want. Either way—today or in a month or in a year—you _will_ learn about it, because I’m not gonna stop bugging you until you do.”

“Okay, first, I find that threat a bit difficult to fulfill—”

“It’s not a threat,” she says, still smirking.

“—and two, I already know about my past.”

“All of it?” She raises an eyebrow.

I’m about to say ‘yes’, but the way she just asked that question makes me hesitate. _Do_ I know everything about my past? The only thing I saw when I touched my tooth box was that I had a family and a sister whom I saved. But the more I think about it, I realize that I actually _don’t_ know all about that. For example, when was her birthday? When was _my_ birthday? I was 17, so I probably was into girls already. Or was I?

After mulling it over for a few moments, I come to the conclusion that my past is still a mystery to me.

I start walking towards the stairs.

Lizette smiles and hurries upstairs, leaving me to follow her.

As my steps take me closer to the upper floor, I notice the series of pictures hanging from the wall. They are arranged from oldest to newest—and by oldest, I mean as old as the first photographs in black and white. I feel like I’m taking a trip through history, watching children become parents and then grandparents as their own children have their own sons and daughters. So many different faces…

…except for one.

Lizette’s.

It’s not exactly _her_ in each picture, but it seems like her face has been ‘copy-pasted’ generation after generation, with only a few subtle differences each time. I know children resemble their parents in one way or another, but _this_ is ridiculous. Shouldn’t she look _way_ different from her great-great-great-great-grandmother?

There’s only one open door in the upper floor, right at the end of the stairway, and right next to the very last picture, where Lizette and Karin appear with their parents. It seems like they’re a lovely and loving family. The girls look only a bit younger, like it was taken about a year ago—and again, Lizette and her mother look like they could be twins. She looks like she could be a twin to the girl I saw in the first photograph, for crying out loud! Maybe with less prominent cheekbones…

“My family is from Norway,” I hear Lizette saying beside me. “My grandparents moved to the States and settled in Wisconsin when World War II broke out. We lived there until my dad was promoted as the new director of his company’s branch office in Philadelphia a few months ago. But you don’t need to know that, do you?”

“I don’t know,” I reply. “Do I?”

“No, not really. You _do_ want to ask something, though.”

Is she a mind reader or something? ‘Cause that last sentence was more of a statement than a question. And she is right.

“How?” That’s all I can manage to articulate, but that lone word carries more weight than any more elaborate question would.

Lizette smiles. I have mixed feelings about that smile. It’s so bright and earnest, and yet I can’t help but feel like she’s hiding some dark secret behind it. I’m usually not this distrustful of people, but she…

She… looks so beautiful when she smiles.

Oh boy. What’s happening to me?

“I was born with the gift,” she explains. “My family’s had it for centuries. The funny thing about it is, it only manifests on the women, and only in one per each new generation. Who knows? Maybe it’s some kind of mutant gene or something like that.”

“Mutant?” I snort. “What, like the X-Men?”

“Why not?” she shrugs.

“Well, I don’t know about that. Sometimes there are things that science can’t explain. I was brought back as a spirit with winter powers after my death. How do you explain that?”

Lizette shrugs and smiles again. Then she walks back into her room and picks up something from her bed.

“Close your eyes,” she tells me, not turning back to look at me.

“I’m sorry?”

“It’s a surprise. Don’t you like surprises?”

“Only if _I’m_ the one who’s giving it.”

“Of course. I should’ve expected that from the Guardian of Fun,” she chuckles. “Will you humor me and close your eyes for a few seconds or not?”

“Fine,” I sigh and close my eyes alright.

“Don’t cheat, Jack Frost!” I hear her say somewhere close to me.

“The thought never crossed my mind,” I say, grinning mischievously.

“Yeah, right.” I hear footsteps approaching. “Okay, open them now.”

I comply. The first thing I see is Lizette with her hands raised towards me, palms closed. I raise an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

“Oh, come on. This is supposed to be fun!”

“For you, maybe,” I reply, pointing to her left hand. She opens her palm. Empty.

“Just a little,” she giggles.

I roll my eyes and point my finger at her right hand. This time, she produces a necklace with a large pendant seemingly made of… ice?

“Did you… make that?” I ask disbelievingly, observing it carefully. The electric blue ice looks flawless, like a perfectly polished gemstone. It reminds me of that blue diamond featured in _Titanic_. It might as well be the prop used in that film, except that this one has a white snowflake clearly visible within the ice.

“I wish I had,” Lizette replies. “It’s another thing that’s been in the family for a long time.”

“Well, it’s beautiful,” I admit. I consider myself somewhat of an artist, what with the intricate frost patters I tend to leave in my wake, but this… this is a masterpiece of art.

“It’s yours now,” Lizette says, offering it to me.

“What?” Apparently I’ve been asking that question more times in the past few hours than in my entire life. “No, I-I can’t take it. It your heirloom. Besides, I’m not the jewelry t—”

“This has been meant for you since its very creation,” she cuts me off. “My family was only tasked with its safekeeping. Please, take it.”

Does she mean to say that her family has been aware of my existence for a long time? How come I never learned of them?

Hesitantly, I finally shake my head in utter disbelief as I lean my staff on the wall and reach out for it. “You know, you promised everything would be clear for me, and all I keep getting are more—”

I don’t get to finish the sentence. The instant my fingertips come in contact with the pendant, I’m blinded by a bright flash of white light. I feel dizzy, and my head feels like it’s about to explode with the biggest headache I’ve ever had. The light gives way to a series of images that flash in front of my eyes, but I can’t make heads or tails of them.

I am aware that I’m falling to the ground, but I can’t do anything about it. I hit the floor. Then I hear Lizette shushing me and feel her hands holding my head, as if trying to help me calm down. Am I having a seizure or something? I look at her, but I can barely make her out. My vision is blurry.

“Don’t worry, Jack,” she tells me, smiling widely. “It will all be over soon.”

That smile is the last thing I see before everything goes black…

* * *

**_300 years ago_ **

Eight years. Eight years of doing the only thing he knew how to do—and that was only by instinct.

Because the Moon hadn’t even bothered to tell him about his mission. All he had disclosed to him was his name.

_Jack Frost._

He still remembered the night when he first came into this world… and how the joy and fun that came with the discovery of his abilities faded away when he also learned that no one could see him. Apparently, he was a spirit, and people couldn’t see spirits. It simply was the way things were.

Then why did it feel wrong to him? Why did he long so badly to be seen by someone—by _anyone_? Was he supposed to ignore it for all eternity? Had he been born in a lake just to be the _lone_ spirit of winter? The coldest season of the year had seemingly introduced itself without any help in its due time for thousands of years. So, why the need for an embodiment of winter?

He was done trying to figure out the reason behind his existence. He just did what he felt compelled to do by nature.

Winter had already begun in the South, and right now he was flying over the only two places besides the South Pole where he could make it snow at least a little: the southern tip of the Americas, and a handful of islands in the Pacific Ocean—or more like the southern regions of said islands.

Bringing winter to the South was so dull…

Fortunately, he wasn’t _forced_ to make it snow everywhere he went nor was he bound to stay in a specific place to make it snow, and so, once he finished his duty, he flew straight to the North, to Norway. He hovered over the Scandinavian country for a moment before plummeting down towards the small kingdom. He slowed down and took in the view of the fjord and the greenery around the town.

There were many lovely things about Arendelle, but there was one in particular that piqued Jack’s interest, and it wasn’t exactly some _thing_ but some _one_. And that someone would probably be asleep in her room—so long as her little sister didn’t wake her up to play.

He flew towards one of the castle’s windows and peeked inside. There were two girls in bed, one of them sound asleep, and the other quite awake, fiddling and staring at the ceiling with an expression of boredom in her face. Jack chuckled. Of the few times he’d been here, he’d always found little Princess Anna like this. She was a restless kid who only wanted to have some fun, occasionally in the least expected or appropriate times.

And conveniently enough for her, in that moment, the northern lights began illuminating the town, giving her just the right excuse for this night. Jack saw how the girl’s expression brightened, and true enough, she hopped out of her bed and tiptoed to her sister’s bedside.

“Elsa. Pssst!” she whispered, and without waiting for her sister’s response, she climbed up onto the bed and sat right on top of her sister. “Elsa! Wake up, wake up, wake up!” she said, jumping on her and shaking her.

“Anna, go back to sleep,” the oldest of the two princesses said, groaning and barely opening her eyes.

“I just can’t,” Anna sighed and flopped down on top of her sister, throwing her arms wide. “The sky is awake, so I’m awake. So we have to play!” she said dramatically.

“Go play by yourself!” Elsa shoved her off the bed, and Anna landed on the floor with no grace at all. Had anyone else seen the scene, they would’ve thought that maybe both sisters didn’t get along too well, but Jack knew otherwise. Elsa loved her sister, but she wasn’t as spirited as Anna, and she definitely didn’t share the same enthusiasm for playing at such a high hour of the night as her.

Anna, however, wasn't easily deterred. She climbed back onto the bed and, with her tiny hand, opened one of Elsa's eyes.

“Do you wanna build a snowman?” she asked.

Elsa threw off the blankets and hopped out of bed almost as soon as those words came out of Anna’s mouth, and Jack knew that Anna had hit her weak spot—yet again. This wasn’t the first time Anna used that trick on Elsa, but it always worked. Anna grabbed Elsa's hand and rushed out of the room while Jack flew through the closed window and followed them both. That was another advantage of being a spirit; he didn’t have to rely on doors and windows being open for him to enter somewhere.

They raced down the stairs and through the empty halls until they reached the throne room. Elsa quickly closed the door before Jack could come through, but once more, it wasn’t enough to stop the spirit from getting into the room. He passed through the wood and was on the other side in less than a second. He landed on the chandelier and looked down just in time to watch Elsa as she began creating a snowball out of nowhere that hovered between her hands.

“Ready?” Elsa said, to which Anna nodded excitedly, eyes wide with wonder. Then, Elsa threw the snowball high into the air, and it exploded just before it reached the ceiling, showering snow down on them.

“This is amazing!” Anna shouted her arms outstretched toward the ceiling as she bounded around the room.

“Watch this!” Elsa said and stomped the floor. Ice emerged instantly, spreading out from beneath her foot across the entire floor. Anna started to slip, sliding across the room, but she kept smiling as if it were the funniest thing ever.

And for Jack, it was. He enjoyed watching children from all over the world having fun during winter. In spite of himself, it made him feel like he _did_ have a purpose. And even though this wasn’t his doing, it still brought a smile to his face. As the snow piled up on the floor and the two children began rolling the snow into balls of different sizes, he reminisced of the day he first saw Elsa two years ago.

It had been under similar circumstances, with the only main difference being that it had been during winter instead of summer. He’d made it snow a lot that day, and he’d seen when the two sisters came out to the courtyard and began playing in the snow. Such was a common sight for Jack whenever he went to the countryside, but seeing children from _royalty_ do such a thing was something that didn’t happen every day, so he’d decided to stay and watch them for a while.

Elsa, then only six years old, had managed to make a snowman with a rather deformed head while a three-year-old Anna sat waiting for it to be finished. The girls had named him Olaf. But the snowman only lasted for a few minutes. While they were both doing snow angels beside it, a distracted servant passed by and accidentally stepped on ‘Olaf’, destroying it. When Anna noticed it, she had begun crying, but Elsa had quickly comforted her by telling her that she’d fix it for her. Jack had frowned, believing that she had meant to say that she’d _build_ another one, as _rebuilding_ Olaf would be impossible now.

He’d almost fallen backwards when he saw the little girl gather the fallen pile of snow and turn it again into the funny little snowman with only a few waves of her hands.

Elsa had ice powers just like him! How could such a thing be possible?!

While such a thing had left him utterly baffled, Anna had obviously loved seeing Elsa doing it. She hadn’t seem surprised by her sister’s magic, so Jack had deduced that she’d known about it for some time, probably as far as she could remember. Needless to say, and even though Jack still couldn’t understand it, he’d hoped against all hope that the girl with ice powers would be able to see him, as they had something in common. He had approached and greeted her…

…but Elsa, just like every other person in the world, had simply passed through him as she and Anna returned inside the castle.

For some reason, Jack had felt even more dismayed by her not being able to see him than he had with everyone else, even though he knew he should’ve expected that. And yet, the prospect of becoming friends with a little kid who had the same powers that he had had made him feel a spark of hope. Perhaps if he kept trying enough, he’d eventually find a way to make her see him. And so, he’d kept visiting Arendelle whenever he could, each time with a new idea on how to achieve his goal.

Thus far, his efforts had all been in vain. But he couldn’t stop trying. He was just too curious to forget about it, and he felt almost like he and the girl shared a connection. He liked to think of her as a little sister with whom she could one day play, both of them using their abilities to have lots of fun. For some reason, he had a childish heart, after all.

“Hi, I’m Olaf,” he heard Elsa say with a slightly different voice, which brought him back to reality. “And I like warm hugs.”

He saw Anna rush towards the snowman and throw her arms around it. “I love you, Olaf!”

Jack chuckled again. In two years, they had changed not the name nor the shape of the snowman, and Anna didn’t seem to grow tired of it. The two sisters made him laugh a lot whenever he came to visit them. They had so many creative ways to have fun. Skating with the snowman, sliding down a pile of snow, jumping into another and then another as Elsa kept forming higher and higher mounds—

He noticed that Anna was getting faster with those jumps. That couldn’t be good. Elsa’s smile started to fade.

“Wait! Slow down!” she yelled. But her sister kept going. The snow mounds were getting higher and higher and Anna was going faster and faster. Jack could see the worry in Elsa's blue eyes when she slipped. Anna jumped again, oblivious to the fact that her sister was on the floor. Unable to stop her, Elsa did the only thing she could do.

She shot a burst of her magic.

“Anna!” she cried, desperately trying to catch her. But her aim was off, and the burst struck Anna in the head. Anna fell to the ground like a ragdoll, landing in a thin layer of snow. Elsa gasped, scrambling to her feet. She rushed toward her while Jack flew down. It had all happened so fast that not even he had had enough time to react.

“Anna,” Elsa said, holding her in her arms. A lock of Anna’s strawberry blonde hair turned white. “Mama! Papa!” she screamed.

She hugged Anna tightly, visibly afraid of what had just happened. And suddenly, the once pristine ice crystallized and cracked, turning to frost. It grew rapidly, climbing up the walls and onto the ceiling. Jack’s jaw dropped.

Her magic was reacting to her emotions. That was something he’d never seen before. She was afraid, and her ice was reflecting it. He tried placing a hand on her shoulder to soothe her, but it was pointless. It went right through her.

“You're okay, Anna,” she said, her voice shaking. “I got you.”

The doors burst open, shattering the ice that had sealed them shut. Jack saw the King and Queen of Arendelle stare at the scene, horrified.

“Elsa, what have you done?” the King said. They hurried toward the girls. “This is getting out of hand!”

“I-it was an accident,” Elsa said then stared down at Anna sadly. “I’m sorry, Anna.”

The Queen took Anna into her arms and gasped. “She's ice cold!”

“I know where we have to go,” the King told her and ran out of the room. Jack followed him, as there was nothing else he could do to help.

They reached the library where the King began searching desperately for a book. He found it and opened it, and a map fell from it. Jack tried to read both the book and the map, but it was written in a language he didn’t understand. It didn’t matter anyway, for the King closed the book just as soon as he had taken it, picked up the map, and rushed to the castle gates where the Queen was already waiting for him on a horse, still holding Anna protectively. The King mounted another horse, with Elsa sitting in front of him, and both royals left the castle in a hurry.

The horses galloped through the silent town, and Jack followed after them closely. As they raced through the town and into the forest, the King's horse left a trail of frost behind them. Anna was in a very delicate state. The horses didn’t stop until they reached a small amphitheater-like place with steam geysers that made it warm and humid. Jack rested upon one of the few rocks that weren’t covered in moss while the royal family climbed off their horses and walked towards the center of the ‘amphitheater’.

“Please, help!” the King shouted. “It’s… my daughter!”

A low rumble echoed throughout the place. The rocks jostled back and forth and rolled toward the royal family. The Queen held onto Anna tightly, the girl wrapped in a warm blanket. Elsa stood beside her father, looking frightened. The rocks drew closer, and suddenly, they popped open, revealing themselves to be living, human-looking creatures with large ears and noses, grass-like hair, and glowing crystals hanging from their necks. They stared up at the King and Queen, surprised.

“It's the King!” one of them said, astonished. The rest of the diminutive… beings began murmuring among themselves. Jack saw as they all made way for one of them to approach the family. Said ‘living rock’ looked much older and had longer hair and several crystals hanging from his neck, as well as a moss cape.

“Trolls?!” he heard a voice to his right—a child’s voice. He caught a glimpse of a blonde boy with a baby reindeer but didn’t pay attention to them. He was more concerned with what was happening with Anna. What the boy said, though, ringed in his ears. _Trolls._ Jack had already seen other weird-looking beings in the past eight years, like those guys who called themselves ‘Guardians’, but this was the first time he saw trolls.

“Your Majesty,” the Elder Troll said, bowing slightly. The King knelt down beside Elsa as the troll gently took her hand. “Born with the power, or cursed?”

Jack’s attention returned to the royal family when the troll raised that question. The answer to it was something Jack definitely wanted to learn.

“Uh, born,” the King said quickly. “And they’re getting stronger.”

_Born, eh?_ Jack thought. _So you_ have _always had them. But_ how _?_

The Elder Troll turned to the Queen. He gestured for her to bring Anna to him. The Queen did so, kneeling down and holding her daughter out for him. The Troll rested his hand on Anna's forehead.

“You were lucky it wasn’t her heart,” he said. “The heart is not so easily changed, but the head can be persuaded.”

"Do what you must," the King told him.

“I recommend we remove all magic,” the Elder Troll, again placing his hand on Anna’s forehead. A few images of her and Elsa playing in the snow inside the throne room appeared when he lifted it. “Even memories of magic, to be safe. But don’t worry; I leave the fun.”

The images changed drastically as he spoke, displaying both sisters playing in the open during a snowy day of winter, before the Elder Troll turned them into a swirling ball of magic and placed them into Anna’s head. The little girl stirred and smiled.

“She will be okay,” the Troll announced, sighing in relief.

“But she won’t remember I have powers?” Elsa asked, concerned.

“It’s for the best,” the King said, resting his hand on her shoulder. Elsa stared at her hands.

“Listen to me, Elsa. Your power will only grow,” the Elder Troll said, waving his stony hand and creating beautiful blue images in the sky with his magic. “There is beauty in it, but also great danger.” The blue figures suddenly turned a deep red. Elsa gasped. “You must learn to control it. Fear will be your enemy.”

Elsa clung to her father in fear, and the King hugged her tightly.

“No,” he said. “We’ll protect her. She can learn to control it, I’m sure. Until then, we’ll lock the gates. We’ll reduce the staff. We will limit her contact with people and keep her powers hidden from everyone… including Anna.”

An overwhelming sadness crossed Elsa’s face, and Jack could understand why. In other words, she would become a prisoner in her own home, alone and completely isolated.

Now more than ever, he felt the need to be seen, not to satisfy his own desire but to be able to comfort this poor child. The power they shared could very well be the only thing that would help her feel less lonely if only she could see him and talk to him and become friends with him. Besides, he could help her gain control of her powers, wherever they had come from.

Suddenly, he had a bigger purpose than bringing winter to the world. At least he thought of it that way. And thus, as the royal family left the small valley of living rocks and he followed them back to the castle, he resolved to do whatever was necessary to make Elsa see him, not for his own good but for hers.

_Whatever it takes._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And that was Chapter 2! Way longer than the first one, I know, but as it turned out, describing that five-minute-long scene from Frozen required more words than I thought possible. BTW, I hope you didn't get too confused by that POV change in the story. But since the events from the past will—at some point—need the perspective of multiple characters, I decided to return to a third-person POV. Don't worry; I'll keep writing the events of the present In Jack's POV.
> 
> Now, this, along with Chapter 1, are meant to be sort of like my 'pilot' chapters. I plan to keep updating this story once every two or three weeks (since I'm also writing another crossover and have to keep updating that one as well). As you can see, I've already diverged from regular Jelsa fics by changing one simple fact: Elsa can't see Jack. [SPOILER ALERT: That is gonna be one huge part of the story, though she will eventually see him... it's just not gonna happen soon.]
> 
> Don't forget to review on your way out! Have a nice weekend!


	3. Yours to Hold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I've forgotten to say that I'm re-uploading this from another site, which means I wrote this chapter a while ago. Back then, it took me a while to upload this chapter because I had some trouble trying to get it right. You see, its title comes from a song of the same name by Skillet that I'm featuring in here. Adding the lyrics of the song into the narrative was a bit trickier than I thought it would be, but eventually, Chapter 3 was finished. Just like I told my readers from the other site, I hope you like it.
> 
> By the way, if you'd like to listen to the song before reading, I made a video with it. Well, it's actually two videos; one featuring the 'original' version of the song, and the other featuring the acoustic version. You can Google it using the name "Yours To Hold: My Jelsa Tribute", or you can follow these links (no spaces):  
> Original Version: www . youtube . com / watch?v=g0NoEZRBbEk  
> Acoustic Version: www . youtube . com / watch?v=oFFe24PKdSc
> 
> Without further ado, enjoy the chapter!

The King's orders were carried out almost as soon as he and his family returned to the castle. The staff was indeed reduced, though the King made sure that those servants who were let go ended up with good jobs in the town, and he promised that the Crown would keep looking after them and their families as a reward for their years of service. The King's orders to keep the gates permanently closed became official within the day. And Elsa was given a new room in a different wing of the castle, away from Anna.

Preparing the room for the older of the two Princesses took less than a week during which Anna slept in her parents' room under the excuse that she had caught a cold and that they wanted to keep a close eye on her. Thus Elsa was left alone in the room she used to share with her sister… and which would soon just be Anna's room.

Jack spent every minute of those days with Elsa, trying to find a way to let her know that he was there for her, but it wasn't an easy thing to do. Even while she _could_ see his handiwork, he couldn't see _him_ , and after two unsuccessful attempts to use winter magic to get her attention—the first time by making a snowman appear out of nowhere, and the second by covering the mirror with frost and trying to write his name on it—but which only resulted in her believing that her powers were getting out of control again, he decided to wait until winter to try that approach again. In the meantime, he kept watching over her while she was awake and as she slept. Even if she didn't know he was here, he would stay by her side during this ordeal.

**_I see you standing here,_ **  
**_But you're so far away._ **  
**_Starving for your attention,_ **  
**_You don't even know my name._ **

The day finally came when Elsa was to change from one room to the other. She left the room before the servants arrived to move her pieces of furniture to her new room, which they did in a little under an hour. Jack stayed with her as she waited at the entrance of the new room until the moving was done. Elsa then walked slowly inside, her head lowered and her eyes watery. She was halfway through the threshold when Anna appeared on the hallway. Elsa looked at her with a sad look for what would probably be the last time…

…and without another word, she closed the door, thus beginning her life of isolation and misery.

Anna looked heartbroken as she walked away, and of course Jack felt bad for her as well. His main focus, however, was centered on the Princess on the other side of that closed door, so he went through it and found a little girl lying on her bed, sobbing with her face buried in a pillow that was slowly getting covered in frost. While she hadn't been cursed with her powers, she was probably cursing them anyway for separating her from everything and everyone she loved. If only she could see him and know that she wasn't alone… that there was someone she couldn't harm even if she tried to…

**_You're going through so much,  
But I know that I could be the one to hold you._ **

The days went by, and Elsa grew more or less accustomed to her new lonely room. Jack eventually needed to return to the South to resume his duty, but even as he left, he couldn't help but to look back to look at her one more time before leaving and tell her one more thing, even if she wouldn't listen.

_**"Every single day, I find it hard to say** _  
**_I could be yours alone._ **  
**_You will see someday that all along the way_ **  
**_I was yours to hold, I was yours to hold."_ **

* * *

The time to bring winter to the North finally came after a few months that felt like an eternity to Jack. He wasted no time introducing the coldest season of the year, and then he flew to Arendelle as fast as he could. He arrived at the castle, found the window that belonged to Elsa's room, and went through it. Elsa had apparently just woken up, but already Anna was knocking at her door, insistently asking her to come out and play and build a snowman. Elsa seemed torn between her desire to be near her sister and the need to keep her safe from her powers. She closed her eyes and turned her back to the door.

"Go away, Anna!" she yelled.

"Okay, bye," Jack could hear the muffled, disheartened voice of the youngest Princess on the other side. Elsa shed a tear as Anna's footsteps faded away. Jack wondered how many more times had Anna come here in the past few months to ask her to join her in playing. He sighed.

**_I see you walking by,_ **  
**_Your hair always hiding your face._ **  
**_I wonder why you've been hurting,_ **  
**_I wish I had some way to say._ **

"You don't have to keep doing this, Elsa," he said. "Remember what the Elder Troll told you. There's beauty in your power, just like there's beauty in winter. Just look outside your window and see it for yourself."

Jack's heart skipped a bit when Elsa actually looked up, walked towards the window, and sat on the windowsill to look outside—just like he'd told her to. Had she finally heard him?

He approached her and sat by her side. She looked fascinated by all the snow covering the ground. Perhaps she was glad to know that at least _that_ hadn't been her doing. Jack smiled. If she _could_ see that what he did was beautiful, perhaps she would now have a more open mind and remember what things were like before… well, before the incident with Anna.

"See? You could do the same," he said. "Just let it go. Let it be free again. Forget about what happened. The past is in the past."

Elsa leaned on the wooden edge of the window—and instantly, it became covered in frost, along with part of the window itself. Elsa looked at it and gasped, her look of wonder replaced by one of fear… again.

"No, no, no, it's okay," Jack said, desperately trying to calm her down. "Don't panic. You just need to learn to control it to make prettier things, like this."

He touched the window with the tip of his staff, covering it with his own frost designs. But Elsa didn't see them, as she had already run back to her bed where she now lay curled up with her eyes closed. Jack sat on the edge of the bed and tried to comfort her, but she didn't listen. And when he tried to put a hand on her shoulder, it went right through her as it had many other times before. He shook his head.

**_You're going through so much.  
Don't you know that I could be the one to hold you?_ **

The King came into the room in that moment and, finding the window covered in frost and Elsa sobbing in the bed, sat down by her side. "Is everything alright, sweetheart?" he asked, stroking her hair.

"No, it's not," Elsa replied. "I can't control it. I'll never leave this room."

"Yes, you will," the King said, sounding sure of himself. Elsa looked up.

"How do you know?"

"Because I have something special for you—something that will help you to keep your magic under control."

Elsa's face lit up with hope. She followed her dad to another room where her mother awaited sitting by the fireplace with a small box in her hands. The King took the box and opened it before showing Elsa what was inside. The little girl frowned.

"These are just gloves," she said.

_Gloves?_ Jack repeated in his mind. He peeked inside the box. Indeed, there was a pair of white gloves in it. _How is this going to keep her magic under control?_

"Ah, but not just any gloves," the King said. "You see, these are special gloves. If a person wears them, he or she will be unable to use their magic, no matter how hard they try."

Elsa gave him a skeptic look. Jack knew she was a smart girl. She wouldn't fall for something so ridiculous so easily.

"You don't believe me?" her father said. "Why don't you try one of them on and see with your own eyes how effective they are?"

The little Princess hesitated, seemingly still not convinced… but she finally relented and took one of the gloves from the box. She slipped her right hand into it and tried to shoot her magic at the fire.

Nothing.

"See?" the King said. "Now you won't freeze everything you touch. And all you have to do for them to keep working is to constantly repeat these words: 'Conceal it; don't feel it; don't let it show'."

"'Conceal it; don't feel it; don't let it show'," Elsa repeated. She smiled and looked at her father. "Will I be able to play with Anna now?"

The King's smile of reassurance vanished. He looked at her wife for a moment before replying, "Oh, I'm… I'm sorry, Elsa. You can't play with her yet."

"B-b-but the gloves—"

"The gloves will help," the King replied, "but holding back so much magic also requires sacrifice. The gloves must sense that you're trying to protect Anna by staying away from her. Eventually, you'll be able to keep your magic under control without the gloves, but until then, you need to keep your distance, just to be safe."

_What?!_ Jack thought. That had to be the lamest excuse in history. Even the King sounded unsure about this. There was nothing magical about those gloves; it was all in Elsa's mind! How could she expect to _learn_ how to control her powers if she _repressed_ them?

"Elsa, I know they're your parents and that you love them, but you can't trust them on this!" he yelled. "They're wrong! If you accept what they're trying to make you do, you truly _won't_ be able to get near Anna ever again. Remember that fear is your enemy. You must fight it, not pretend that it's not there!"

The little girl looked down and nodded, raising her left hand for her dad to put the remaining glove on it. Exasperated, Jack 'kicked' a nearby chair, though his foot obviously went through it. If being locked up inside her room was bad, this was even worse. The day would come when she wouldn't have gloves on her hands for one reason or another, and what would happen then? This wasn't the answer! He could teach her how to control her powers, if she could only _see him!_

**_I'm stretching but you're just out of reach…_ **

"Now, say the words again with me," the King said after he covered her daughter's hand with the glove. "'Conceal it'…"

"…'Don't feel it'," Elsa said, and then both of them completed the phrase, "'Don't let it show'."

"Well done, Elsa. Now go back to your room and try to read one of those books you've been trying to read," the King told the girl. She obeyed and walked slowly back to her room. Jack was about to follow her, but then he heard the ruler sigh and say in a low voice, "What have I done?"

"You are trying to help her, Agdar," the Queen tried to reassure him.

"I just _lied_ to my daughter, Idun!" the King replied, trying to keep his voice down. "What father does that to her children?"

"What father has a daughter with those powers?" the Queen argued. "This isn't something any parent is prepared for. We're trying to do our best here, given the circumstances. I don't like stripping her of her childhood either, but we don't have any choice." She approached him and took his hand between hers. "Remember what we agreed on?"

The King nodded. "She _has_ to believe that those gloves can help her, at least until she's old enough to rationalize things better and actually start controlling her powers." He embraced his wife tightly while Jack paced restlessly around the room, waving his staff around as if trying to hit something.

"No, no, no! This is all _wrong_!" he yammered as if these two rulers could hear him. "She needs to learn _now_! This is ridiculous! This is stupid! This is—"

_This is perfect._

Jack managed to calm down as realization dawned on him. This definitely wasn't the solution, but it brought him a new opportunity.

He flew back to Elsa's room and found her reading a book, just like her father had told her to. She didn't look too happy, but she did seem to have a bit more hope than before. Jack knew that every book she'd tried to read had been completely frozen and ruined, but not anymore. Elsa was probably thinking that, if the gloves were working with the books, they would also be the solution that would allow her to be with Anna soon. Of course, that wasn't true, but for Jack, it also meant another thing.

If Elsa believed her magic was being repressed, then he would be able to use his own winter magic without her believing that it was her doing—and thus, she would understand that there was someone else capable of doing it.

And then, she just _might_ see him.

Jack leaned on his staff. This wasn't the best option, but he had run out of ideas. For now, he'd play along with what the King and Queen had planned and give Elsa some time to get used to not seeing ice and snow covering whatever she touched or appearing wherever she was. The day would finally come when he'd be able to help her.

**_And I'll be waiting for the right time,_ **  
**_For the day I catch your eye,_ **  
**_To let you know that I'm yours to hold._ **

"But that doesn't mean I'll leave you alone, Elsa," he said. "I'll be here. I'll always be here for you. I promise."

* * *

Unfortunately, Jack's plan didn't work out too well. If anything, two years later, Elsa only seemed to be even more scared when Jack tried to cover the mirror with frost to write on it again while she was sitting in her bed. She apparently thought that her powers were becoming too much for the gloves to handle. As a result of this sudden attack of panic, she'd accidentally shot a burst of ice on the mirror—from her _foot_. Jack even _felt_ the shot go through him before hitting the glass.

He was baffled.

Of course, she had grown up a bit more by now, and the gloves no longer fit her, which only served to give her even more reason to believe that they couldn't help her anymore. The King told her that all she needed was a new pair of gloves, which she received a few days later.

Jack didn't dare risk scaring her a second time.

He couldn't understand this fear of hers. For some reason, he kept thinking of it as unnatural, almost as if something or someone else was convincing her that every magical thing that happened and was winter-related was her fault. He didn't want to give up on helping her just yet, but he had to admit that this was beyond him. Whenever he thought he had everything figured out, something new happened.

**_Every single day, I find it hard to say  
I could be yours alone…_ **

* * *

One day, shortly after her 12th birthday, Jack came to visit her once more. She was sitting against the wall next to her bedroom door, drawing something on a large sketchbook while listening to Anna who was playing right outside the room, as if tempting Elsa to come outside. Jack chuckled at the little girl's antics. She was quite stubborn and persistent, perhaps even more so than him. Plus, she didn't seem to lose hope. He, on the other hand, had already given up on trying to be seen by Elsa. In fact, he wondered at times why he kept doing this knowing that it was a complete waste of time.

Though occasionally, it wasn't. On the extremely rare occasion, he'd get to see Elsa smile. This was one of them.

"What have you got there that has you so happy?" he asked, floating just above her head.

His jaw dropped when he saw the drawing. It was a flawless depiction of a palace—a blue palace consisting of several spires surrounding two large towers centered around the hexagonal shape of a snowflake.

He didn't know she had this much talent. Was she a natural drawer or had she been taking lessons? And it wasn't just the one drawing. On the same page, there were many different angles of the palace with notes regarding any optional changes to be made or possible complications that could arise while building it. This was more than just a drawing. This was the work of an architect, and a really good one at that. He also read the three words on the top right corner of the page: 'My Ice Palace'.

"Ice?" he wondered out loud. "What, are you actually planning on building it?"

"One day I _will_ build this," she said, sighing. "Once I control my powers…"

Her voice trailed off, and Jack just stared at her. That was one other reason why he didn't stop visiting Elsa. From time to time, she would speak out loud to herself just after he told her or asked her something, and while he knew better than to get his hopes up, he still enjoyed daydreaming of the day when they would actually have a two-sided conversation… when they would become friends. After all, he still thought of her as a little sister whom he had to look after, though he had no idea of where that feeling came from.

Suddenly, he noticed that there was frost building up on the wall. _Oh, no._

Elsa also noticed it. She jumped and screamed in horror, tossing the sketchbook aside. She called for her parents, and within the minute, the King and Queen arrived at Elsa's room. They closed the door behind them after they walked inside and stared at the wall. Meanwhile, Elsa paced around the room, visibly frightened.

"I'm scared!" she exclaimed on the verge of tears. "It's getting stronger!"

"Getting upset only makes it worse. Calm down," the King told her, reaching out for her lovingly. But Elsa would have none of it.

"No! Don't touch me!" she yelled, making the Queen gasp and the King flinch. This was the first time that Elsa told them to stay away from her, and apparently realizing what she had said, added, "Please, I don't want to hurt you."

Both rules looked discouraged, and Jack couldn't blame them. Well, he _could_ ; after all, it had been their idea to keep repressing Elsa's powers instead of helping her gain control over them. But after four years of watching them suffer just as much as Elsa and Anna, Jack had come to pity them. He remembered what the Queen had said once; this wasn't something any parent was prepared for. This wasn't something _anyone_ —and that included the Winter Spirit himself—was prepared for… except maybe for the trolls. The Elder Troll _had_ known that this would happen.

Once more, Jack felt frustrated and helpless. He shook his head. In four years, he had been nothing more than a passive observer, unable to do anything to help. But in spite of everything, a small part of him still refused to give up… to stop believing…

**_You_ will _see someday that all along the way  
I was yours to hold, I was yours to hold…_**

* * *

With the passing of time, little Elsa grew into a beautiful young lady who would've captivated many a man's heart—if she had allowed herself to leave the castle and meet new people.

It didn't take her long to figure out that the gloves could only do so much after that incident in her room, but she didn't stop using them. She had come to accept them as a part of her life, even if they weren't as useful as her parents had tried to make her believe. She'd also decided to live in seclusion and isolation willingly, fearing that she would be a danger to others.

Ironically enough, once she accepted all this, her powers stopped manifesting.

Jack couldn't understand it, but there was nothing he could do about it, other than keep visiting her. One of those visits coincided one summer with the departure of the King and Queen who would go on a two-week journey to a neighboring kingdom to discuss the renewal of some kind of treaty or something like that. In an uncharacteristic display of trust, they told Elsa they'd leave her in charge until their return. Elsa had been learning everything a princess should know about ruling a kingdom, of course, but she seemed scared regardless just to be near people, let alone to _rule_ in her parent's stead.

He was by her side when she and her parents bid each other farewell. She looked worried.

"Do you _have_ to go?" she asked them as she curtsied.

"We've talked about this, Elsa," the Queen said. "You already have everything under control. We know you can do this."

Elsa didn't seem convinced. The King tried to embrace her, but she flinched slightly. She still wouldn't let people touch her. Her father sighed.

"We love you, my dear daughter," he said. "Don't ever forget that. And don't worry. You'll be fine, Elsa."

Elsa nodded. "Thank you." She hesitated before adding, "And I love you, too."

Both the King and Queen smiled, and then they left. Jack nearly shed a tear. For all their mistakes and failures, they still loved their daughter and were trying to do their best to be good parents for her. Elsa knew it as well, as far as he could tell. She didn't blame them for anything, not even for keeping her isolated from the rest of the world. She loved them just as much as they loved her.

Sadly, that would be the last time she'd see them.

* * *

A few days later, Arendelle received the grimmest news: some fishermen had found what few remains there were of the ship in which Elsa's parents were traveling. The King and Queen had perished in open seas.

Judging from the remains of the ship and where they had been found, it was quite obvious that no one could've survived. There were no bodies to recover, so the funeral had to be carried out with empty caskets. Anna was forced to lead the funeral procession, since Elsa wouldn't come out of her room. While most people thought that the older of the two Princesses was simply too overcome with grief to be in her parents' funeral, Anna was more confused than ever and couldn't understand why she acted this way.

Jack did, though. He'd been there when she learned of her parents' demise.

He couldn't remember seeing a worse reaction from her when one of the servants, Kai, told her about it. The shock had been too much for her to utter a word at first, but her emotions had spoken volumes through her powers which had unleashed a small yet fierce snowstorm inside the room. Then, when she finally had seemed to understand what she'd just heard, she'd leaned against the door and slid slowly to the floor until she had her knees pulled up to her chest. There, sitting on the floor, she had burst into tears—and as she did, a frost blast had emerged from where she was, and the storm had 'frozen' in place.

It had already been a day and a half since then, and Jack still couldn't believe his eyes. Every last snowflake had stopped moving in an instant and remained suspended in midair up until now. He had never seen this facet of Elsa's powers, but neither had he seen Elsa so devastated before. She had lost the only people she trusted and with whom she was close. He recalled how terrified she had been to watch them go and wondered whether she'd sensed that something terrible would happen if they left.

By now, Anna had already returned from the funeral and was speaking to Elsa from the other side of the door. There was a sheer level of hopelessness in Anna's voice as she told Elsa that she was there for her, pleaded for her to let her in, and reminded her that they only had each other now. Elsa, who hadn't even had the strength to stand up and get dressed in black as her sister had, listened to Anna but didn't reply. She just began sobbing once more, heartbroken.

Jack cried along with her, not only because his heart was with Elsa but because he had no way of letting her know that. He'd never felt so useless before. For a moment, he'd even forgotten that he was a spirit and tried to embrace her, only to have his arms go through her.

**_I'm stretching but you're just out of reach…_ **

He was worried she'd starve herself to death, so he refused to leave her side until the following morning when she finally opened the door and accepted what Kai and another one of the servants, Gerda, brought her for breakfast. They also used the moment to give her their condolences. She nodded and walked back inside her room, closing the door behind her. Slowly but surely, she ate everything they'd brought her.

Jack stayed for a few more days with Elsa. Then, when his duty called him again one night, he approached Elsa who was sleeping on the bed. The pillow was wet with the tears that kept coming out of her eyes and which would probably keep doing so for a very long time. He didn't know if he spoke to her just because it would be more painful to keep his words to himself, but he reaffirmed the promise he'd made to her years before nonetheless.

"I won't leave you alone, Elsa. I'll always be here for you."

He walked up to the window, intent on flying away to the South. But before leaving, he looked back, just like he had done ten years before. There was something else he still needed to say.

**_"I'm ready when you're ready for me…"_ **

* * *

_"Jack? JACK?! What did you do to him, Lizette?!"_

_"It needed to be done…"_

* * *

**_Three Years Later_ **

In 21 years of bringing winter to the south, Jack had never felt so unwilling to keep doing his duty as today. There was another place where he wanted—where he _needed_ —to be more than here. But he had a responsibility to fulfill. Un of in which he, Keeping the winter alive required his intervention every once in a while, and unlike the solstice—when he could introduce the cold season everywhere in an instant—he had to make use of a full day. Unfortunately, that day happened to be today.

Today was also Elsa's coronation.

It was an important day for her, even if she didn't want to admit it—or to be crowned. Jack had given her a few words of encouragement, both on her 21st birthday and a couple of days back. As usual, they had fallen on deaf ears, quite literally. It didn't matter. He still believed she'd make a great Queen, despite—

A stinging pain in his chest interrupted his train of thought. He began feeling weak and dizzy, and the wind ceased to obey him. Unable to stay in the air, he plummeted to earth, but he lost consciousness long before he hit the ground…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And that was Chapter 3. Did you like the song? Do you think it fit into the story?
> 
> Don't forget to review on your way out!


	4. The Eternal Winter

Jack opened his eyes slowly. His vision was blurry, almost as if a white veil had been placed upon them. He couldn’t remember what had happened, and he couldn’t concentrate on anything but that single word.

He struggled to stand up. His head hurt more badly than the rest of his body, but as far as he could tell, there were no broken bones—and frankly, he would’ve been surprised if there were. After all, spirits didn’t have bones to break. He looked around him and realized that the white veil was actually fog. He was standing on top of a mountain. Then he remembered what had happened. Instinctively, he diverted his gaze towards the North.

_Elsa!_

He had no way of knowing it, but he believed something bad had happened to her. The two events—her coronation and his sudden loss of strength and power—were too close together for them not to be connected somehow. He attempted to summon the wind, and the latter raised him above the mountain peak instantly. Satisfied, he took flight, heading to Arendelle.

He soon regretted not making sure that he could _stay_ in the air for longer periods of time, though. The wind would constantly stop obeying him, causing him to fall several times. Fortunately, he managed to break his fall each time, ending up hovering mere inches above the ground before he resumed his flight.

Of course, the journey took longer than usual, and by the time he reached the North, his powers were nearly gone. It was as if they were slowly being taken away from him. He had to land on top of another mountain to take a break… but he lost his breath when he saw in dread the landscape around him.

It was mid-July, and yet, _everything_ was covered in snow. Winter had come to almost every country in the Northern side of the Earth.

There was not a single patch of land that didn’t look white. Every tree, every lake and river, and even the ocean, were buried under ice and snow. The sun did shine as bright and felt as warm as it should during summer, but not even its rays could melt the snow, testifying to the supernatural nature of this weather. Jack made an effort to fly as high as he could and found that most of Europe was already under a huge white circle that was slowly expanding to cover everything in its path—and the more it grew, the weaker he felt.

He _had_ to find Elsa.

From what he could reckon, Arendelle was, unsurprisingly, at the very center of the circle, so Jack headed there. His first stop was the castle. There, he found evidence of Elsa’s magic in a fountain. Its water was frozen in a rather disturbing way, reflecting Elsa’s fear. There was an ice blast at the entrance of the castle as well. However, after spending nearly an hour searching for her all over the castle and even throughout the town, he came to the conclusion that she was long gone. So, where was she?

He took flight again, rising above the frozen fjord, to try and find any trace in the vicinity—a trail of ice or snow or anything remotely similar—that could tell him where Elsa had fled to. Unfortunately, if there _was_ a trail somewhere, it was probably buried under the freshly fallen snow, which only served to frustrate him even more.

Suddenly, a flash of light in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned to look at a large mountain north of Arendelle. Something was reflecting the last rays of the setting sun near its peak—and mountains usually didn’t do that. Could it be…?

Without hesitation, he glided across the small kingdom, nearly crashing into a few snow-capped trees a couple of times when the wind ceased to help him. When he was close to the mountain, though, it wasn’t because of the wind failing him that he almost fell to the ground but because of the utter shock that came with the sight of what stood tall and magnificent near the top.

He had been right to guess that it was ice what was reflecting the sunrays, and also to assume that Elsa probably was behind it. Still, _this_ went beyond his wildest imagination… and he’d already seen this once before, albeit as nothing more than a drawing.

It was Elsa’s Ice Palace.

Jack had to blink a few times and shake his head to snap out of it. How he had managed to stay in the air during his trance, he didn’t know. But now that he was back to normal—or at least as normal as a soon-to-be powerless spirit could be—he needed to focus on the matter at hand, so he flew towards the imposing structure and landed on the only balcony it had. He opened the doors and walked inside Elsa’s masterpiece of engineering.

The first thing he noticed was that there was no furniture, so unless Elsa had built this place a few hours ago, this couldn’t be her personal room. Maybe she was resting elsewhere or building more rooms on the tower behind this one. Her absence from this room wasn’t what troubled him the most, though, but the way the walls looked like they were cracking from the inside out. It reminded him of what had happened in the throne room all those years ago, when all the beauty of the winter wonderland she’d created had been covered in a layer of frost that even destroyed her snowman. In other words, she was still frightened, meaning she probably knew of the winter she had unleashed everywhere.

Aside from that, this place was breathtaking and pretty much perfect, down to the last detail. Just like in the drawing, the room was centered around the hexagonal shape of a large snowflake that made up the floor. Along with a grand ice chandelier that decorated the roof and was also shaped like a snowflake, it illuminated the whole place, seemingly irradiating its own light. True, the purple-red hue gave the room a rather creepy atmosphere, but it didn’t take away the fact that it was glowing on its own. What Elsa had accomplished here was astonishing, especially when considering that she had done it in spite of her fear.

“Elsa?” Jack called out. “Elsa, I know you’re here. I need to talk to you. It’s important!”

“Elsa!” he called out again at the top of his lungs. If there ever was a right time for him to be heard, it was now. The saying was true, though—be careful what you wish for.

“Oh, don’t waste your breath,” he heard a voice echoing throughout the ice room. “She can’t hear us, you know.”

Jack blenched, not because someone had actually _talked to him_ for the first time ever, but because of how haunting the voice that had spoken was. “W-who are you?” he asked, trying to conceal his uneasiness.

“Who am _I_? I think the real question is, who are _you_?” the voice countered. Jack looked all around him, holding his staff defensively even though he didn’t have the strength to fight. “You can lower that stick. I know you’re no warrior, Jack Frost.”

“I thought you didn’t know me,” Jack replied sarcastically, raising an eyebrow at the mention of his name.

“I never said that. I just voiced your thoughts—your _fear_ ,” the voice hissed. “Because you _are_ afraid, aren’t you? You fear you’ll never know who you are or why you came into this world. You know that there is a huge possibility that you might spend all eternity without ever learning if you have a purpose greater than simply bringing winter to the world—and it _terrifies_ you. Even if as a spirit you don’t require sleep like humans do, you can choose to close your eyes and dream or to stay awake all the time. You choose the latter because the few times you’ve attempted to sleep, that fear has plagued your dreams and become your worst nightmare.”

Aside from the fact that the voice knew of Jack’s fears, the way in which it seemed to relish speaking of them sent shivers down the spirit’s spine. “H-how can you possibly know all that?” he asked, not even bothering to deny any of it.

“Because that’s my job—to see into the souls of every living being in this world, learn of their deepest fears…” The echoing voice began fading away, only for Jack to hear it again, loud and clear, right next to him. “…and turn them into nightmares!”

Jack jumped, startled, and spun around in time to see a shadow vanish into the ice floor. He waved his staff around, hitting the air, and yelled, “Who are you?!”

The voice—the shadow—let out a demonic laugh. “Oh, I’ve been waiting for the moment when we’d get to see each other’s faces for a very long time. After all, it’s not a proper meeting between two people if only one of them sees the other.” The echo faded again, becoming clear once more when it spoke again behind Jack. “The name is Pitch Black, Nightmare King and Lord of the Shadows.”

Jack turned around and found himself staring into a pair of silver-golden eyes—eyes filled with rage and hatred and devilry. “Pitch Black,” he repeated in a low voice, taking a step back to have a better look at this character that definitely lived up to his name. Black hair, black garment, ashen skin… he was scary, indeed. “What do you want from me?”

“From you?” Pitch chuckled, walking around the Winter Spirit with his hands clasped behind his back. “What, you think you’re suddenly so important just because I can see you and talk to you? Don’t flatter yourself. This meeting is nothing more than a mere coincidence, though I must concede I expected to see you here at some point. Nah, it’s not you I’m here for. It’s Elsa I really want.”

Jack’s grip on his staff softened for a moment. “Elsa?” he said, unable to mask his concern.

“Well, not exactly her, of course. You see, I don’t just sense other people’s fears. I _feed_ on them. I depend on fear to stay strong. Now, the fear of a grown-up is good, but it’s not tasty enough. The fear of a child, on the other hand, is delicious and quite… nutritious. But Elsa’s fear, oh, her fear is like a feast!”

“How come?”

“You’re smart. You tell me.”

“Spare me the effort.”

The Nightmare King stared at Jack, challenging him. The Winter Spirit held his gaze, not willing to play along. Eventually, Pitch relented. “Fine, I’ll tell you myself. Elsa is more than just a fearful young girl. She’s a _source_ of fear. She instills fear in the hearts of everyone around her. Even her parents were afraid of her powers.”

“That’s not true,” Jack countered. “They were never afraid of Elsa.”

“I said ‘afraid of her powers’. That doesn’t necessarily mean they were afraid of her, but they did fear she would never be accepted by anyone if her secret became known. So, in a way, their fear was related to her—and they were right, too. You should’ve seen everyone’s faces on the night of her coronation! All those people scared to death when her powers were accidentally revealed. Even now, every last man, woman, and child in Arendelle still fear for their lives.”

A terrible thought occurred to Jack after hearing of Elsa’s coronation. “When did that happen?” he wondered out loud.

“Oh, that was several days ago. You think this much snow fell over half a continent in just one night?”

“Days?!” Jack began panting. He had been unconscious for _days_? It had felt like hours. How could he have let this happen? To hell with his duties; he should’ve been by Elsa’s side that day. Maybe he could’ve helped somehow.

“Ah, and there it is—your own fear, also caused by her,” Pitch grinned. “You may not be afraid of Elsa’s powers, but like her parents, you fear for _her_. Not only that, but you also fear you’ll never get the chance to help her because she can’t see you, no matter how hard you try. And to think you almost managed to achieve your goal a couple of times.”

“What do you m…?” Jack began, but then he understood. All those times he’d thought of Elsa’s fear as unnatural… as if something or some _one_ were fueling her fear. “You…”

“‘Me’,” Pitch mimicked mockingly. “Of course it was me! Who do you think was there all the time to influence her dreams and thoughts? Every single time you tried to use your power to positively influence her magic, I already had worked hard to convince her that it was all her fault and that she would never control it.”

Jack felt a sudden urge to beat this so-called King of Nightmares to silence, but he refrained himself from doing so. Instead, realizing where he was standing, he smirked and said, “Then you’ve failed. All by herself, she has discovered the beauty in her winter magic. She _has_ found a way to control it, and this Palace is proof of it.”

“Is that so?” Pitch replied sardonically. “In that case, her freezing poor Anna’s heart was something she did consciously.”

Jack lost his breath. Elsa had done _what_? “She… hurt Anna?”

“Not ‘hurt’. _Kill_. Soon enough, anyway. From what I understand, a frozen heart is as close to a death sentence as it gets. Until then, I shall revel in her fear as well. Because she’s afraid, oh so afraid, that she might die without having been able to help her sister. I suppose she and you are similar in that way… except for the dying part, of course.”

Jack closed his fists around his staff so tightly he believed it would snap. He was furious, not just because this demon had corrupted Elsa’s magic through fear, but also because he hadn’t been there to prevent—no. He _had_ been there. He had stood there by Elsa’s side every day of every winter since the accident. Even during summer—at least whenever he could during the season—he kept visiting her. In a way, he had _fought_ , which was more than could be said of this coward who only knew to hide in the shadows. And to rescue Elsa from Pitch Black’s clutches, he would fight this time too… even if she couldn’t see him do so.

“Enjoy it while you can, Black, because it won’t last long. Now that I know who I’m fighting against, I’ll do everything in my power to stop you, and soon you’ll lose your source of fear.”

Pitch opened his mouth to reply, but something apparently caught his attention, because he turned to look outside through the open balcony doors before speaking again. “You’re right. This will be ending soon. Such a shame… but the execution should be something interesting to watch nonetheless.”

Jack frowned. “Execution?”

“Didn’t I say? Elsa’s curse of eternal winter has seeded enough fear in the hearts of some of the townspeople to make them feel compelled to end it in any way possible. Needless to say, one of their options is to eliminate it from its source. And now it seems like they’re choosing that option.”

“They wouldn’t do it. They wouldn’t kill their own queen.”

“Oh, yes, they will. In fact, there’s a mob at the doorstep right now. Well, more like an army, actually.”

And as soon as Pitch spoke those words, a loud roar pierced the air. Jack hurried to the balcony and saw a sizable amount of Royal Guards, led by a man with sideburns dressed in a grey overcoat, in front of the Palace. The only thing standing between them and the entrance was a small chasm—and a gigantic snowman guarding an ice staircase that linked both sides of the chasm together. The soldiers were attacking the snowman, but the only thing their spears and arrows seemed to accomplish was to anger it and cause it to grow ice spikes all over its body.

The balcony doors then shut by themselves, as if the Palace could sense the danger and was going into lockdown. Jack, who was still outside, tried to open them, to no avail. With no other choice left, he walked through them to find that the room walls had recovered their pristine appearance, and snowflake beneath the Winter Spirit’s feet, as well as the walls and chandelier, had changed color. The purple-red light had been replaced by something more closely similar to amber. Whatever it meant, it probably wasn’t good.

“Well, it was good while it lasted,” Jack heard the echoing voice of Pitch Black say. The spirit turned around but the dark entity was nowhere to be seen anymore. “I’ll see you around, Jack Frost.”

Jack clenched his teeth. There was nothing he could do about Pitch Black, and frankly, he didn’t care right now. He needed to find Elsa, if anything to keep her safe from these people. She had to be somewhere in the Palace.

Just as he was about to go downstairs, Elsa ran into the room, going right through Jack, as usual. The latter barely had time to react before two men caught up with her, crossbows in hand. Their uniforms were different from the ones donned by the Royal Guard of Arendelle, so Jack assumed they were foreign. And they didn’t seem moved by Elsa’s plea to let her live. Just like Black had said, they were going to execute her. There would be neither trial nor defense in her favor. It would be murder, plain and simple.

Only that a certain Winter Spirit wouldn’t let them.

One of the two men had already raised his crossbow and taken aim at Elsa. Time seemed to slow down when the arrow was launched from the weapon and began its short flight towards Elsa’s head. Jack was in the way, but him being an ethereal entity, it just went through him. He was expecting that to happen anyway, and the moment the fletching of the arrow left his body, he spun around and waved his staff in front of Elsa, creating an ice barrier that trapped the projectile—missing Elsa by less than an inch—at the same time that she raised her hands defensively and closed her eyes.

The effort took a serious toll in him. He fell to his knees, weakened. He knew he had used most of whatever winter power he had left to save Elsa from just one arrow and that the two men had plenty more, but it didn’t matter. Maybe she couldn’t see him, but she _could_ see his work, even if she always believed it was hers. That was exactly what Jack needed right now. Pitch Black was right about one thing: Elsa was afraid. Too afraid, in fact, to use her powers in self-defense. However, if she could see that not only was she more than capable of using them to that end, but also that her survival was _dependent_ upon it, perhaps she’d find the courage to fight back on her own.

He was right. As soon as she reopened her eyes and saw the arrowhead, she seemed to realize that these ruffians would have no mercy on her.

“Stay away!” she exclaimed, using her own magic this time to create more ice barriers between her and the two men as they split up and flanked her, trying to get a better angle to shoot. They didn’t appear fazed by her magic, but Jack knew that the Nightmare King’s words were true. Fear was moving these people to destroy that which they feared. They were mustering courage from their fear, and that was what Elsa needed to do.

“Elsa, if there’s ever been a good time for you to listen to me, it’s now,” he said, trying to cup her face between his hands. They went through her cheeks and inside her head, but he couldn’t care less now. “I know you don’t want to hurt others with your powers. That’s why you isolated yourself for so many years—why you came here, away from your people. But if you don’t use them now, you’ll die at the hands of these men!”

_“Maybe that would be better. I would never again hurt anyone else… like I did Anna.”_

Jack’s jaw dropped, his trembling hands nearly letting go of Elsa’s face. She’d _heard_ him. She’d actually heard him, and he was absolutely certain of it. Moreover, he’d heard her speak… yet her lips hadn’t moved. He was hearing her _thoughts_ , like some sort of psychic link had been formed between the two of them when his hands went inside her head. He couldn’t believe this. Thirteen years of trying to find a way to communicate with Elsa, and this was all he needed to do?! How come that had never occurred to him in the first place?

 _Now, this is not the time to kick yourself, Jack_ , he thought. There were more pressing matters, like convincing Elsa to deal with these—

He suddenly noticed that both Elsa and the two thugs were moving more slowly. _Very_ slowly, in fact. Almost like they weren’t moving at all, as if time had slowed down again. Unlike what had happened with the arrow he’d stopped earlier, however, this didn’t feel like it was just his perception, so he decided to make a small test. He pulled away for a couple of seconds then stuck his hands inside Elsa’s head again.

In those few seconds, time had elapsed normally. And now, once more, it had nearly stopped.

This experience had gone from ‘unique’ to ‘miraculous’. She could hear him clearly _and_ she had the time to do so, despite the precarious situation she was in—something he was grateful for, even if she couldn’t see him yet. He needed to make the most of this opportunity, and he would.

“Elsa, what you did to your sister and the winter you unleashed wasn’t your fault. You lost control. It was an accident. But you can fix it—all of it.”

_“No, I can’t. I can’t control the curse.”_

“That’s because you still think of it as a curse. Elsa, your powers are a _blessing_. You need to embrace them as such. You can do things no one else can do. Just look where you’re standing! You built this palace from scratch!”

 _“I built it thinking that I could live free here and be who I am without hurting anybody. But I was a fool.”_ Her voice sounded tearful and hopeless.

“No, you’re not,” Jack countered. “You are smart and talented and brilliant. More than that, you are a good person. You _can_ be free without having to give up your powers, and you’d make a wonderful queen, too. But first you have to let them see that. How will you do that from the grave, eh? Please, Elsa, I’m begging you. You must fight for your life. Don’t let them kill you. Don’t give up like this. Don’t…” He felt a lump in his throat. “Don’t leave me alone. You’re all I have, you mean a lot to me, and I… I couldn’t stand watching you die.”

Even with time being slowed down, he saw the beginning of a frown forming in Elsa’s face. _“Who are you?”_

He smiled with hope. Whether she believed that it was her own conscience speaking to her before, he couldn’t know. But now he’d finally caught her attention. Maybe, if that little girl he’d met all those years ago was still there, he could use that to his advantage.

“Live, and I’ll tell you,” he said, and he let go of her.

As time went back to normal, Elsa’s frown became complete. She looked back and forth between the two soldiers surrounding her, but it also seemed like she was searching the room for someone else. Jack’s heart beat rapidly. At long last, she was aware of his existence.

The soldier to Elsa’s left raised his crossbow and took aim. Fortunately, she had just turned to look that way—and Jack saw how her eyes became filled with resolve and a renewed desire to stay alive. Unhesitatingly, she shot a gust of ice magic which created, not a barrier like she’d been using to prevent them from firing, but a whole lot of icicles that literally pinned the man by his uniform to the wall behind him, one of the icicles threatening to pierce him through the neck if he tried something funny.

“That’s it!” Jack cheered. “Show them what you’ve got!”

The second soldier, who at first was left in shock, quickly recovered and tried to unload his weapon at Elsa, but she already had caught a glimpse of him. Without losing sight of the attacker on the wall, and before the man could pull the trigger, she shot another gust of magic that sent the weapon flying away from his hands. He tried to run away, but Elsa cut off his escape by creating two more walls of ice to his left and right. She added a larger ice wall and began pushing the soldier back towards the balcony doors with it.

“That’s the way! They’ll think it twice before…” Jack began celebrating, but when the ice wall effectively left the man out of combat and with no more places to flee to, and yet she kept pushing, he got worried. “Elsa, I-I think you’ve made your point.”

The balcony doors shattered and gave way, and it became clear to Jack that Elsa would not stop pushing until the soldier fell to the chasm. Obviously she still couldn’t hear him through conventional means, so he put his hands inside Elsa’s head again. “Elsa, what are you doing? You’ve already beat them.”

 _“It’s the only way they’ll leave me alone,”_ he heard the angered reply.

“No, no, no, this is not what I meant when I told you to fight,” Jack pleaded. “You need to show them mercy so that—”

 _“Did they show_ me _any mercy? They need to understand that I’m a danger to everyone. This will send them a message.”_

 _“That’s right, my dear Elsa,”_ another voice whispered. _“Kill him and make them fear you like they should!”_

Jack recognized the voice. He pulled back and found Pitch Black standing in front of him, with his hands also inside Elsa’s head.

“Did you really think it would be so easy, Jack?” he said with an evil smirk. “Well, guess what? You’re not the only one who can pull off this little tri—”

The Nightmare King didn’t get to finish his phrase when Jack charged against him and tackled him. “Leave her alone!” he yelled, landing a good punch on the demon’s face.

“And be deprived of the best food supply I’ve had in ages?” Pitch grunted, stopping another punch with his hand and struggling to get Jack off him. “In your dreams!”

“Queen Elsa!” someone else shouted from the far end of the room. “Don’t be the monster they fear you are!”

Both Jack and Pitch stopped fighting and looked in the direction where the voice had come from. The Royal Guards and their leader were standing there. Pitch let out an exasperated breath. “Oh, not him.”

Whoever ‘him’ was, his words certainly had an effect on Elsa. She turned back and, realizing what she was doing, ceased her attack and let her guard down. Jack looked at her, bewildered. “Seriously? You ignore me, but you do listen to him? Who is _him_ , any—”

He flinched when he heard the sound of a crossbow being unloaded, but Elsa wasn’t hit. The chandelier, however, began falling from the ceiling. She gasped when she noticed it and ran away as fast as she could, but she slipped and fell.

“ELSA!” Jack cried, his view blocked by the sheer amount of ice chunks. He stood and hurried to the same spot where most of the Royal Guards were gathering. Elsa was lying on the floor, unmoving. The man with the grey cloak also joined the Guards.

“She’s still breathing, sir,” one of them said, inspecting her. Jack let out a breath of relief.

“Good. Get her on a horse, carefully. We will take her back to Arendelle,” the leader ordered. Then, to the rest of the Guards helping the two foreign thugs out of their respective ice traps, he said, “As soon as those men are safe, tie them up. I will not be the one who allowed the Queen of Arendelle to be murdered in cold blood. She’s our best chance to stop this winter. Only after she does, and _if_ the people so demand it, she will have a fair trial. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Prince Hans,” the Guards replied.

While they picked Elsa from the ground and left the room, Jack looked around. Pitch had vanished without a trace again, but this time, the Winter Spirit would not be fooled. For all his words of resignation, the Nightmare King had stayed to watch the fight, and the moment he’d seen that Jack was succeeding in helping her, he’d seized the opportunity and turned her courage into fear—a fear she’d then channeled into anger and hatred. Jack wouldn’t let that happen again.

He followed the Guards carrying Elsa all the way outside and to the other side of the chasm. The only thing left of the enormous snowman was his left foot. The Guards’ leader—Prince Hans—joined them a few moments later, followed by the Guards holding the two thugs. Jack decided it would be better to follow them on foot. Not only was he in no condition to attempt flying, but he would also be able to stay closer to Elsa. And so, once they were all in their horses, they began their journey back to Arendelle, unaware of the invisible companion walking beside the horse that carried the Queen of Arendelle… and of the evil creature lurking in the shadows.

* * *

_“You work for Pitch, don’t you?”_

_“Who?”_

_“Don’t play dumb with me!”_

_“Jamie, I really have no idea what you’re talking about…”_

* * *

It wasn’t until several hours later that Elsa finally woke up—in a cold, dark cell, with her hands in shackles. Hans had ordered the best blacksmith in Arendelle to make those as quickly as possible, and to make sure that they covered Elsa’s hands completely, the second he had returned to Arendelle. It was a precautionary measure, according to him, but Jack still thought of it as something brutal and inhumane, coming from the man who’d saved her.

The Winter Spirit watched from a corner as the young queen slowly came to and sat on the bed—though ‘bed’ was too nice a term for the stone bench she’d been left lying on. Elsa looked around wearily until her eyes became fixed on the window. Then she jumped from the bench and rushed up to it, but the short chains didn’t let her get far. She had to find a position where they wouldn’t get in the way before she could look outside.

“Oh, no. What have I done?” her whispered, devastated cry echoed throughout the cell.

Jack shook his head, frustrated. He wanted to comfort her, but she could only hear him when they were psychically linked… and he didn’t want to attempt doing that a second time. It had seemed perfect at first, but now he was having second thoughts. Going inside her mind like that, it felt like he was invading her, forcing her to listen to him. It had helped her back there at the Palace, sure, but if he kept doing it over and over, how was he any better than Pitch Black?

Oh, he knew that the dark spirit was present in the cell, too. Though he couldn’t see him, he also was sure that he had been messing with her dreams while she was unconscious. For all he knew, he had kept her in that state longer than she should’ve been. She couldn’t have hit her head that hard when she fell at the Palace, could she? No, Pitch had been doing something to her all the way back from the mountain—and knowing it only made Jack all the angrier. He was powerless, in every sense of the word. He didn’t have the strength to fight him, and even if he did, how do you fight someone you can’t see?

The sound of a key being turned made both Jack and Elsa turn to look at the door. It was Hans.

“Why did you bring me here?” Elsa demanded.

“I couldn’t just let them kill you.”

“But I’m a danger to Arendelle. Get Anna!”

“Anna has not returned,” Hans told her. Clearly concerned, Elsa looked outside again while Hans continued. “If you would just stop the winter—bring back summer… please.”

“Don’t you see? I can’t.” The regret and despair in her face broke Jack’s heart. “You have to tell them to let me go.”

Hans seemed disheartened, but he replied, “I will do what I can.”

Jack heard Pitch’s distant scoff. “No, he won’t.”

“Is there something you want to share, Black?” he asked, irritated.

“The dashing prince of the Southern Isles here has his own agenda,” the echoing voice of the Nightmare King replied while Hans walked away. “He wants the throne of Arendelle and is planning to marry Anna to get it. The last thing he needs is a sorceress queen standing in his way, but he can’t just kill her. That’s why he saved her at the Palace. He acts like a noble hero until he finds the right excuse to get rid of her—which Elsa just gave him by telling him that she can’t undo what she has done. In other words…”

“Execution,” Jack concluded for him, watching how the foreign prince closed the door behind him after leaving. The Winter Spirit stared at Elsa thoughtfully for a moment. Then, as soon as he heard the lock, he turned around, and quickly touching both shackles with the tip of his staff to cover them with frost, he determined, “No one is going to harm her, not while I’m still here.”

“Ach, you really are melodramatic, aren’t you?” Pitch mocked.

Jack didn’t even acknowledge him. He had every reason to distrust Pitch. For instance, he had lied about Hans and the Royal Guards going after Elsa. They had been chattering all the way during the journey back from the mountain, and from what Jack had heard, they had been looking for Anna. Hans had even insisted that ‘no harm was to come to the Queen’.

On the other hand, Pitch had looked pretty upset about Hans showing up at the Palace. So, what if his lie to Jack had been intended to make him fear for Elsa’s life—feeding Pitch in the process—but in the end had turned out to be true?

Come to think of it, how convenient that the arrow that had missed Elsa had cut through the ice the chandelier was hanging from. Elsa had been _lucky_ not to be crushed by the massive ice structure as it fell, but if Hans was after her blood…

The fiend could still be lying, of course. Jack couldn’t be certain of Hans’ true allegiance unless he left the cell and investigated on his own, but he wouldn’t leave Elsa alone with Pitch Black anymore, and without more information, waiting idly for something to happen would be gambling with Elsa’s life, something he wasn’t willing to do.

In any case, she wasn’t safe in Arendelle. She needed to flee the kingdom, but first Jack had to set her free, thus his efforts to freeze the shackles. Perhaps the locks could somehow be broken with ice, and while he no longer had the power to do it by himself, Elsa did. If she could just realize that…

“Just give up already,” Pitch insisted from the shadows. “It’s over.”

“That hasn’t stopped you from trying to influence her mind and dreams a bit more,” Jack countered without getting distracted from his work.

“Force of habit. It’s in my nature, and it helps pass the time until she gives her last breath. But believe me when I tell you that I _have_ given up. There is nothing I can do about it. Like I said before, it was good while it lasted.”

Jack took a moment to rest. Even conjuring frost was turning out to be more and more exhausting by the minute. He couldn’t do this on his own, and Elsa—who seemed to be more concerned about Anna than anything else, judging from the way she kept staring outside—wasn’t cooperating. He needed help, but he couldn’t exactly ask the only other spirit in the cell for it. All he cared about was feeding on the fear Elsa’s powers seeded in the hearts of…

_Of course._

“What if it didn’t have to end?” he shouted. “What if we _could_ do something about it?”

“ _We?_ As in, together? So you can save her and be her hero while I still lose? No, thank you. I’d rather save my strength for later.”

“I’m not asking you to let me save her soul,” Jack argued. “Just her life.”

There was silence for a moment. Then, Jack heard the reply clear as day—right behind him. “I’m listening.”

Jack smirked. Pitch had caught his drift and finally come out of the shadows. Now it was time to see how badly he needed Elsa.

“You want to keep your… food supply,” he said, turning around to face him. “I want to keep her safe from you. But Hans wants to _kill_ her so he can have her throne. Now, which one of us would be easier for you to deal with in the long run?”

“You’re proposing a truce,” Pitch said, a trace of amusement in his voice. Then, more seriously, he answered, “Fair enough. The enemy of my enemy is my friend… for now, at least. What exactly do you want to do?”

“Revert what you’ve done to Elsa. Take away the fear you’ve seeded in her heart and mind so she can gather the courage she needs to—”

Pitch began laughing manically before Jack could finish his sentence. “It doesn’t work that way, kid. I induce fear. I can’t ‘revert’ it nor take it back. It’s not in my nature.”

That statement only confirmed what Jack suspected—and now that he knew for sure, it was time to put the real offer on the table. “Then stop influencing her. Just for a while, that’s all I’m asking. Let _me_ try and help her find the courage to use her powers to break out from here. Then, once she’s escaped, you can come back and make her feel fear again. Who knows? Maybe you can convince her to cross the frozen ocean and flee to an island where no one can find her.”

His own words were making him sick. He knew he was playing Pitch’s game—and the broad, ironic grin on his face told Jack he was enjoying it—but he had no other choice. He’d already figured out that Pitch was causing Elsa to fear for Anna. Even if he was simply doing it out of habit as he so claimed, it was distracting her. Without Pitch around to fuel that fear, Elsa would probably stop thinking about it so much. Only then would Jack be able to get her to focus on escaping.

“Go on, then,” the Nightmare King replied eventually. “Do what you must. Be the hero. I will not interfere.” He began walking towards the darkest corner of the cell, but then he looked back. “Although, _if_ you do succeed, I _will_ come back for her. Don’t you dare think I’ll let you win so easily.”

Jack looked at Pitch menacingly. “Neither will I. We _are_ enemies, and we will always be. But not today.”

Pitch scoffed and disappeared in the shadows. Jack stood there a while longer, making sure that he didn’t return. Not that he could know if he did, but he stayed there nonetheless. Then, when Elsa finally looked away from the window and stared at the shackles, the Winter Spirit went back to work.

“Come on, Elsa. Let’s get you out of here.”


	5. The Great Thaw

“There you go. Just a little more…” Jack encouraged Elsa as the latter continued freezing the shackles and the chains—a slow-going process that had taken nearly an hour by now, even though he was sure she would’ve been able to finish it sooner than that.

Several times now he had been tempted to psychically connect with her and hurry her. Again, he didn’t want to go to such lengths anymore, but he was growing impatient by the minute. He wondered how long he would be able to resist sticking his hands inside Elsa’s head if this kept going on like—

The soft metallic sound made Jack blink. He knelt to analyze the shackles, and his heart gave a leap when he saw a tiny gap between both pieces of one of them. He had been right to believe that they could be broken from the inside with enough ice. Elsa’s freedom was one step closer.

“That’s it! Now you just need to pull,” he said cheerfully. But when he looked up and found that Elsa was staring outside again, he got slightly upset. “Oh, come on. Now what are you looking… at?”

His annoyance turned to concern when he realized that there was a genuine reason to look at the scenery on the other side of that window. He reckoned it was a little past noon, but the huge, dark cloud looming over the town could’ve fooled him. Also, the wind was quickly gathering speed, foreshadowing the formation of a blizzard. He knew this was the result of Elsa’s uneasiness, and while this could provide her with cover once she escaped, it could also prove harmful to the people of Arendelle.

Then, both he and Elsa took notice of the frost crawling up the walls, taking the shape of large snowflakes, at an alarming speed—and none of the frost was sprouting from the frozen chains. It could be a result of the forming blizzard itself, and Jack reasoned that if such a thing was happening here, it would start happening elsewhere the more the storm grew in strength. Elsa needed to flee _now_.

Fortunately, she seemed to understand that very fact as well as he did. She began tugging fiercely at the chains, and this time, the frost in the walls actually increased with every pull she gave. It even emerged from inside the mortar holding the dull grey bricks together, cracking it and threatening to weaken the walls’ integrity.

“Hurry up!” a voice coming from the hallway caught the attention of both Queen and Spirit. “She’s dangerous. Move quickly!”

Jack made out the sound not of one but of several sets of footsteps approaching the cell door. It was obvious who they had come from, and therefore, it was obvious that Hans had failed to help her… or that he _was_ behind this after all. Either way, it didn’t matter. None of these people would lay a finger on Elsa.

Gathering as much power as he could muster, he aimed his staff at the door lock and shot a bolt of ice at it right before someone outside tried to open it. Their grunts and complains about the door being frozen shut brought a slight grin of triumph to Jack’s face, but knowing that his little trick wouldn’t hold them off for long, he stood in front of the entrance, ready to fight.

Then he heard Elsa tugging one last time and the shackles snapping and falling to the floor. He turned around, expecting to see her standing free and ready to leave. But while he did find her to be free already, she wasstumbling into the wall behind her—and since it was completely covered in ice, it fell apart when she crashed against it. Despite the lack of grace in her fall, however, she managed to conjure a mound of snow between her and the debris that grew in thickness to act as a sort of impromptu cushion. She ended up outside of the cell, miraculously unscathed as a few more bricks fell around her. And to her credit, she was also able to stand up right away and put some distance between herself and the dungeon.

The rest of the cell began rumbling, and just as the Royal Guards forced the door open, the girders came down, narrowly missing the soldiers. Naturally, the wooden beams just passed through Jack who was unharmed. He ran outside to catch up to Elsa, but as he crossed the impromptu threshold, he looked behind briefly and found Hans shouldering his way through the Guards. He didn’t look very happy.

 _So, you_ are _the villain indeed_ , Jack thought. He stepped outside and began searching for Elsa, hopeful that this so-called prince would be smart enough to stay indoors.

True enough, the snow storm had quickly become a full-blown blizzard at this point. Flying above it to find Elsa was pointless, powers or not. The visibility wouldn’t be any better from the air than it was from the ground. Even Elsa couldn’t get far in this storm without using her magic. Thankfully, that enabled Jack to finally catch up to her. She seemed more concerned with trying to walk as far away from Arendelle as possible than with finding an actual route to that end, anyway.

As the blizzard grew in size and force, Jack’s powers and strength started to diminish—along with the feeling of triumph he’d felt just a few moments ago. Keeping up with Elsa, despite her slow pace, became more and more difficult. Jack felt like an elderly man, leaning on his staff to stay on his feet until his legs were no longer able to sustain his weight. His knees buckled, and he had to drop the staff to break the fall with his hands. The wind was so strong that it carried the staff away from him even before he hit the frozen surface of the fjord. He couldn’t even crawl to retrieve it, let alone follow Elsa as she kept walking away.

“Elsa…” he murmured, reaching out to her despite knowing that she wouldn’t even see or hear him. He was surprised when he saw her walking back towards him, but then it became evident that she wasn’t going back _for_ him. She just seemed lost, unable to find a way out of the storm. On several occasions, she looked around, took a few steps forward, then returned to her original spot and repeated the process.

Suddenly, Jack saw a shadow to his right, the silhouette of a man fighting the storm and slowly catching up to the Queen. “Elsa!” he shouted, and Jack recognized the voice as Hans’. “You can’t run from this!”

Elsa had begun running as soon as she saw Hans, but then she stopped and turned around hesitantly. “Just take care of my sister,” she pleaded, gesturing with her hands for him to stay away and just let her go.

“Your sister? She returned from the mountain weak and cold…” Jack heard the beginning of Hans’ reply. The rest of it began fading away as a black veil covered his eyes. He was losing consciousness… or worse. He had often wondered if a spirit could eventually disappear. Now he believed such a thing was possible. He felt at death’s door, and he was afraid, as afraid as he had been before coming out of that lake all those years ago. He looked up, hoping he’d see the Moon like then.

He saw nothing.

This was the end, and Pitch Black had been right. His fear had become true. He was about to vanish from the face of the Earth without even having discovered if he had a bigger purpose. Most of all, though, he couldn’t help the feelings of failure and regret that had been plaguing him ever since he’d met Elsa. He’d failed her, and now, he wouldn’t get another chance to try and fix that.

 _I’m sorry, Elsa_ , he thought as he exhaled his final breath and waited for the end to come…

* * *

Darkness… That was the only thing around him… It was dark, and it was cold. And he was scared…

He felt so light, more than ever before. It was like he was floating in a void…

It kind of made sense, though. He had been born at a dark, frozen lake, and now he was returning to that nothingness he’d been part of before.

Then he felt… warm. Like some kind of sunray was shining on his face. There also appeared a dim light in front of him covering the entire landscape, barely shining, as though it was being contained behind a curtain or—

Suddenly, it dawned on him that he had his eyes closed. He felt like an idiot for not realizing that sooner, but still, he was afraid to open them… afraid of what he’d see if he did. What if this wasn’t the afterlife he wanted to get to? What if this wasn’t heaven but hell? What if—

_Thwack!_

Something hit him in the head. He took a hand to the hurt spot to rub it while he tried to grab whatever it was that had smacked him with the other. He was surprised when his fingertips grazed a wooden object he knew all too well. It was his staff! And it was floating close to him, though it kept moving all over the place. His need to get a hold of the one object he could use to channel his powers became greater than his fear.

He opened his eyes…

…and he was nearly blinded by the sheer brightness of the sunlight above.

He had to wait for his eyes to readjust to the light before he could get a proper look at what was going on around him. His surprise was even more overwhelming than the flash. For all around him, dozens of streams of ice and snow were flying upwards, high above the ground, towards the sun. In fact, _he_ was being carried away by one of said streams, while his staff was being carried by another.

This wasn’t at all what he’d expected would happen when he lost consciousness. Whatever had happened to the storm? And how long had it been since then, anyway?

He decided he needed to know what was going on below. He looked down… and felt a great joy. The fjord was no longer frozen, and Arendelle was resurfacing again from beneath the white layer of snow. Every ship that had been stuck in the ice was now floating freely, filling up the bay. And there she was, standing tall on the deck of one of them, arms raised towards the sky and a hopeful smile drawn across her face. Elsa, the Queen of Arendelle, the one who’d claimed that she couldn’t end the winter she’d unleashed, was the one now thawing the entire kingdom and bringing back the summer to the land.

Just when it seemed like the streams couldn’t rise any further, Elsa clasped her hands together, and they began swirling and gathering in a single spot. The ice and snow began compacting, merging into a single object. Jack was able to make out the shape of a massive snowflake just before the streams carrying him and his staff pulled them both to the center of it. And as soon as it all solidified, he felt a sudden overload of power. His strength returned in a single instant, and all the might of winter coursed through his body once more.

The gigantic ice snowflake dissolved as quickly as it had formed, leaving behind a fully-recovered Winter Spirit who even felt stronger than ever before. He was quick to grab his staff before it—and he—fell towards the sea. Then he began whooping and dancing in the air, flying in circles all over the fjord. He flew high in the air then plummeted to the ground only to rise again in the last possible second. He repeated this action several more times, confirming that the wind was obeying him again and without failure. He was in full control of his abilities once more. It was like he’d been reborn.

For better or worse, that also brought a familiar tugging in his body, a feeling that was drawing him back towards the south to reinforce the hold of winter over the lands that were actually going through that season. Duty was calling again, and he had to respond. But just before he left Arendelle, he looked down one last time and caught another glimpse of Elsa standing on that ship… embracing her sister Anna who, apparently, was alive and well.

It was the first time Jack had seen them together like this in years. And they looked like nothing would split them apart ever again.

* * *

“Are you ready?”

Everyone in the courtyard cheered and clapped in reply to Queen Elsa’s words. Then, with a huge smile on her face, she stomped the floor, covering it in pristine ice and turning the place into one large skating rink. She also froze the waters of the two fountains—shaping them in a beautiful and elegant fashion this time—and threw a magical snowball high into the air where it exploded, showering snow down on everyone.

It had been three days since what the people in all of Arendelle were calling the ‘Great Thaw’. During that time, Elsa had taken it upon herself to explain to her subjects what had happened, the nature of her powers, and her life story—or at least, the part about her isolation within the castle walls. She spoke of it in a way that didn’t put the blame on her late parents’ actions or damage their legacy. If anything, it evidenced their noble but desperate attempt to keep their beloved daughter safe. It was obvious that, in her heart, there would always be nothing but love for them.

Naturally, after returning summer to the land, the citizens of Arendelle and the foreign dignitaries that had been present during her coronation and the whole ordeal that followed seemed ready to forgive and forget. Well, almost all of them. An old man who simply went by the title ‘Duke of Weselton’ seemed bent on playing the part of the victim—despite the fact that he’d been the one to send that pair of crooks to finish her off. And Hans… it sufficed to say that his true colors had been revealed. And after his plans failed, it was obvious that he held a serious grudge against the Queen.

Thankfully, everyone else seemed content when Elsa decided to ship the wretched prince back to his country so that his twelve older brothers could deal with him properly. In fact, the French representative offered to deliver him on his way back to his country. And regarding the Duke, Elsa signed a new decree, stating clearly that her kingdom would never again do business of any kind with Weselton.

And now, the entire kingdom was celebrating. The castle gates were open once again, the townsfolk were making the most of the rink… and Anna and Elsa were together as a family at last.

Leaning on his staff, Jack watched from a corner of the courtyard as the sisters skated together—or rather, at how Elsa was trying to teach Anna the art of skating, with help from Olaf. The spirit chuckled. All those years Anna had spent behind Elsa’s door, asking her to build a snowman with her, and now Elsa had given her the ultimate snowman—a living one. And of course, it didn’t take long before the three of them were joined by a blond guy named Kristoff—apparently Anna’s new boyfriend—and his reindeer Sven. It was a heartwarming scene… and a rather funny one too.

“Look at them,” Jack heard a faint, echoing voice behind him. “They’re all happy and rejoicing and having fun like never before. And the two sisters! Had you ever seen them this close?”

Jack didn’t turn. The voice had lost its echoing effect as its owner emerged from the shadows to stand right beside the Winter Spirit. He sounded disgusted, and Jack feared that he’d try something to ruin this moment. But his fear quickly turned to rage and determination.

“Don’t even think about it, Black,” he said, still not looking at him but making sure that his voice carried as menacing a tone as he could produce. Now he had the power to defend Elsa, and he wouldn’t hesitate to wield it. “She’s alive and well, which means our truce is over, and I will not let you—”

“I won’t harm her anymore.”

Jack couldn’t finish his sentence. He was shocked by this statement and couldn’t do more than give the dark entity a double take instead.

“Don’t be so surprised, Frost,” Pitch continued. “Now that Elsa and Anna have mended the bond between them, it will be harder for me to make her feel fear again. I mean, I could try, but now she would have her little sister by her side at all times to help her remember that ‘love is stronger than fear’.”

Jack raised an eyebrow. Despite the mocking tone he’d used with that last phrase, Pitch sounded sincerely defeated.But still, he couldn’t believe it. “You’re giving up, just like that?”

“I _had_ given up earlier, remember? You were the one who convinced me to help you break her free from that cell. By doing so, she got her sister back, and she also found out how to control her powers. But if I had not helped you, she would’ve died anyway. I would’ve lost either way.”

“You don’t sound too upset about it.”

Pitch shrugged. “Elsa is not the only source of fear in the world. She was the strongest, yes, but she’s not the only one. Besides, I’ve indulged myself with this little distraction for too long. It’s long past time I return to work.” Here, the Nightmare King, tall as he already was, seemed to grow even taller as he leaned down towards Jack. The façade of boredom was gone, replaced by an evil gaze as he added, “And you would do well to stay out of my affairs from now on, Frost.”

Jack wasn’t scared by this stance, though. Not anymore. “If your ‘affairs’ involve Elsa in some way or another—”

“Oh, have I not made myself clear? Elsa is of no use to me anymore.”

Jack frowned. Pitch seemed honest—which, frankly, was unsettling—but he couldn’t forget what had happened back at the Ice Palace. He’d rather tread carefully than take this demon’s word for it. “If this is another ruse to make me lower my guard so you can afflict Elsa again—”

“It’s not,” Pitch replied, visibly exasperated, pinching the bridge of his nose. He sighed. “Look, I have great plans that involve the children of Earth and their… protectors. It might take me many years—centuries, in fact—before I see those plans come to fruition. How would a queen who will die in only a few decades be of any use to me?”

“Then why bother using her at all in the first place?”

“Do you ever pay attention? She was my _distraction_ , and that distraction is over.” Jack kept staring at Pitch until the latter let out another exasperated sigh—more like a grunt, actually—and shook his head slightly. “I see you’re not convinced yet, so, how about we make a deal? I stay away from your dear Elsa, and you stay away from the children of the world.”

Jack took a hand to his chin as he considered the dark entity’s offer. Elsa’s safety in exchange for the safety of every child on Earth? That didn’t sound fair, but to be honest, he really didn’t care about them. His only concern was Elsa, and besides, the children had the Guardians. He’d never met them, but he knew of them and their mission. Surely all of them together would be more than enough of a force to be reckoned with. But before he agreed to this, Jack wanted to make sure of one very important thing.

“You will leave Elsa’s and Anna’s children alone, too,” he said as firmly and decisively as he could. This family had suffered enough. It was time for them _and_ their future generations to have some peace of mind.

“Fine,” Pitch replied without hesitation. “I’ll keep my distance from them.”

Jack looked into Pitch’s eyes, searching for any trace, any indication that he was lying. Finding none, he held out his hand. “You won’t have to worry about me. Scare all the children you want; as long as none of them are descendants of Elsa or Anna, I don’t care.”

Pitch smiled widely as he squeezed Jack’s hand. Then, letting go of it and turning around, he began walking away. As he was about to retreat back into the shadows, however, he stopped and said, “I expect you’ll stay by Elsa’s side from now on, whether she sees you someday or not. I don’t judge you, but I do want you to heed my words. She’s human, Jack. She’ll wither and die eventually, and what will you do then?”

He looked slightly back, staring at Jack only from the corner of his eye. “Fate had us meet as foes, but that doesn’t take away the fact that we have something in common.” He took a step forward and disappeared, becoming one with the darkness—and from within the darkness, he delivered one las sentence. “If you ever get tired of your loneliness, just call out to me.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Jack said in a loud voice.

Soon, he stopped sensing the evil presence, and he resumed his previous stance, taking in the jolly sight before him. Mostly, his eyes wouldn’t stop following Elsa wherever she went. This was the first time in years that she looked happy, but more than that, she looked _free_. Not only to live but also to express herself in every way possible.

With all the chaos and trouble from the last few days, Jack hadn’t paid too much attention to Elsa’s ice blue dress until now. It was evidently made out of ice, down to the last thread of fabric. He could even swear that it more or less resembled her coronation outfit which he’d seen a few months back, shortly after her birthday. He wondered whether she’d used it as a template or if she’d actually _transformed_ it into what it was now. Either way, it looked fantastic.

He also loved her new hairstyle. It reminded him of when she was a little girl—and a bit more carefree. He recalled she’d begun arranging her hair in a bun since she’d turned 13 or 14, something like that. Seeing that loose braid over her shoulder, decorated with all those ice snowflakes, was like a breath of fresh air. All in all, Elsa looked stunningly beautiful…

 _My beautiful sister_ , he thought to himself, shaking his head and trying to emphasize the word ‘sister’ in his mind so as to avoid letting that line of thought go any further.

Jack’s grin faded as he sighed deeply. He would never tell Pitch—and if the demon kept his promise, he would never find out—but he had no intention to stay with Elsa anymore. His reasons? First, she no longer needed a friend like him now that she had Anna, so there was no point in wasting his time and strength in trying to make himself seen. Second, he knew that, if he stayed, eventually he wouldn’t be able to refrain himself from trying to reach out to her the same way he had at the Ice Palace. And third… well, that was between him and the Man in the Moon.

Sure, if ever she were in big trouble again—which he would know of, given that any big display of power from her part would result in him getting weaker—he’d come to at least make sure that she made it through. But for now, things seemed peaceful enough, and as long as the two sisters stayed together and trusted each other, a second out-of-place winter was unlikely.

Thus, as the celebration continued, the Winter Spirit decided that it was time to leave this region of the world for good. He took in the view one last time, burning it deep in his memory, and left with a smile on his face. Yet it didn’t take long for a few tears to flow…

* * *

_Jack? Jack, can you hear me?_

The voice sounds faint, distant, almost like that of a ghost.

“Jack?”

And then I hear it, as clear as day.

I open my eyes in an instant, jerking up and trying to get my bearings. I’m lying in… a bed? And what is this place? It looks like a girl’s room. In fact, there’s a girl by my side, sitting on a chair with a hand on my shoulder. She’s saying something, but I don’t pay much attention. Whoever she is and whatever she’s trying to tell me, it can’t be more important than trying to find out _how in the world I ended up here!_

The last thing I remember is watching Jamie and Karin as they played… No, wait, that’s not right. I was at the castle courtyard in Arendelle, watching Elsa and Anna skate together… No, that’s not right, either…

Ugh, my memories are a mess! What did she do to me? Hold on. What did _who_ do this to me?

“Jack? Did you hear me?”

I look into the girl’s eyes… and my heart sinks deeper inside my chest. _Elsa?_ No, it can’t be. There’s something different about her. The cheekbones, for example, are less prominent than… Whoa, now _that’s_ a real déjà vu. I’m pretty sure I’ve already thought of that before…

I blink a couple of times… I can't help but think that I know her. But before I can dwell any more on it, I start feeling dizzy again. Man, talk about a migraine!

“Easy, cowboy,” she says, helping me stay in an upright position. “How are you feeling?”

Among other things, I’m feeling tempted to give her a sarcastic reply, but I end up deciding against it. “Like run over by North’s sleigh, deer and all.”

To be honest, I think I’m sugarcoating it. My whole body feels numb, and I don’t even want to get started on this hellish headache. But most of all, I feel… confused. These memory lapses… all these images and thoughts and feelings… and Elsa…

“You’re suffering the side effects,” the girl says. “It’s all part of the process.”

“What process?” I ask, trying not to sound too irritated.

“The process of recovering your memories, of course,” she replies with a smile.

“What memories? What are you talking about?” I demand, waving my hands in desperation.

And that’s when I notice the object in my left hand… the ice pendant.

It all comes back in an instant—or, at least, everything that happened since I met this girl. She’s Karin’s sister. _Lizette._

Now I remember that she offered me a chance to learn more about my past. Is that what I’ve been dreaming about? And in that case, is this heart-shaped pendant sort of like my tooth box?

I shake my head. I expected to learn more about who I was before I became Jack Frost, but everything I’ve seen so far apparently happened _after_ my ‘rebirth’. It doesn’t make any sense! I mean, how could I forget so many things when I can remember every last moment of my life as a spirit? For example, I didn’t meet Pitch at an ice palace made by a girl with ice powers, and I certainly didn’t meet him only a couple decades after that night at the lake. It wasn’t until about half a century later that we ran into each other!

And yet, this dream I just woke up from—which, by the way, was like witnessing someone else’s life instead of my own—has been more vivid than any memory I can recall from the last 300 years. That’s what’s bugging me the most, because it only makes things more confusing. Not to mention that this image of myself that I’ve witnessed scares the life out of me. I was always bitter about being invisible, but I never lost that childish, mischievous attitude that has always defined me. The Jack I saw in my dream, though, seemed to forget about fun the more he focused all his efforts in helping this one girl.

And that thing about ensuring her safety by making a deal with Pitch? I’ve always known what kind of creature he is, and I never would’ve made a deal of any kind with Pitch Black, not in a million years, no matter how desperate I was. Not only that, but I also would never have been so callous as to say that I didn’t care about other children.

So, who is that guy I saw? Is any of it real?

“Um, I imagine there’s a lot going on in that head of yours,” says Lizette. “But right now, I need you to listen to me very carefully, ‘cause this is kinda important.”

I turn to look at her, trying to ignore my persistent migraine.

“Good. Now, I know that you’re a busy spirit, but this takes time and requires some commitment. The fact that you’re awake means that you’ve only watched the beginning of the story. At this point, you have two options: you can stay and finish what you’ve started, or you can go fulfill your duties and come back later. But I need to warn you, there’s a chance that this might not work again if you interrupt the process, and if you choose to continue, it’s possible that you won’t wake up until your mind assimilates every last memory.”

I look at her with a deep frown. “And you just thought of mentioning this _now_?!”

Lizette shrugs. “You needed to have a choice, and for that you needed to understand exactly what I was offering you. So, what will it be?”

I clench my fists. I hate it when someone tricks me like this. Then, I recall a couple of things I heard while unconscious. Things like Jamie calling out for me and accusing Lizette of working for Pitch. And suddenly, the wheels in my head are turning. What if she _is_ working for him? It would explain why she makes me feel so uneasy. What if this is an elaborate ruse to distract me from my job? All it would take would be one day without me ‘refreshing’ winter for kids to stop believing in me. That would weaken me, and Pitch would have one less Guardian to deal with. By staying, I could be playing right into his hands. I can’t risk that.

I lift my left hand towards Lizette, and she reaches out for the pendant. I’m about to put it in her hands, but I hesitate. A couple of questions just popped inside my head. “How long was I asleep?” I ask slowly.

Lizette ponders about it for a moment. “About a day. Probably less.”

Only a day? Well, that’s not so bad. “Okay. And where’s Jamie?”

This time, she replies right away. “He was worried for you, so he went to find help. My sister and I tried to convince him that it wasn’t necessary, but he wouldn’t listen. He should be back any moment.”

I nod. I can understand his concern. I’m still not sure about all this myself. But what if it’s not a trick? If she’s being honest about her intentions and I leave, I might never get another chance to learn about my supposed past as a spirit—and the more I think about it, the more I realize that what I remember of my early years of life is rather hazy compared to later years.

Also, and in spite of my nagging doubts, there’s one thing I somehow know in my heart to be absolutely true: I knew this girl with ice powers called Elsa. She was as real as the girl with ice powers sitting next to me in this very moment. How could I forget about her? How _did_ I forget about her? And what happened to her… to us?

I look at the pendant in my hand then at Lizette who is still holding out her own to receive it, smiling as usual. Then, I bring it closer to my chest. Maybe I can take a couple of days off to keep doing this. It’s still gonna be a while before I actually need to return to my duties. According to my calculations, I managed to watch 21 years in less than 24 hours, so, even if I dreamed those many years again—and surely whatever’s left for me to see can’t be that much—I would still have more than enough time to spare, right? Regardless, I need to know.

Lizette’s smile grows wider. “I’m glad you choose to stay. And don’t worry, I’ll take care of you while you’re asleep.”

“Thanks… I guess.” _And let’s hope this doesn’t backfire on me_ , I think to myself.

Lizette stands from her chair and starts rearranging my pillows when the doorbell rings. “That must be Jamie,” she says, looking outside the window. “I’ll let him up so you two can talk. He could do with some reassurance from you.”

“Alright. Thank you.”

She smiles and walks downstairs while I lie down. I hear the door opening, but the voice I hear isn’t Jamie’s. That’s a male’s voice, deep and loud… and unnervingly similar to Pitch’s.

I don’t get to corroborate who it is, though. Only a few seconds after laying my head on the pillow, I fall asleep again…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay, now that this is over, I can finally extend an apology to you all. For taking this long to update, yes, but also because I'm afraid I'll have to leave this story on hiatus. Not because of a lack of readers or reviews. Not because of a lack of inspiration, either. It's just because… well, I actually can't disclose that just yet. Let's just say that it is imperative that I finish another one of my fanfics before I carry on with this one.
> 
> All I can tell you at this point is that the story is far from over yet. If these first few chapters felt like a hurried version of Frozen, it's because it was intended to be that way. My original idea involved a story that would take place way after Frozen, and that's what's going on here. I just needed the events of the film to provide you with a background of Jack's activities during this time, as well as his original thoughts and feelings towards Elsa so that you may see later on how and when things change. And, by the way, the next chapter will take place almost five years later in the timeline. (Yeah, I know, it's a huge leap. Just trust me on this, please.)
> 
> I guess there's nothing else left to say for now. Only that I hope I can finish my other story soon so I can come back to this one. Anyway, I'll see you when I see you guys!

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Rather short chapter, I know, but this is just the prologue. And in case you're wondering, no, that's most certainly not Elsa.
> 
> If you feel just as confused as Jack was, don't worry. Things will be clear for you all too in Chapter 2. Now, you should know that I'm a bit focused with my other Frozen crossover right now, but I will be updating this story every once in a while until I finish that other fic, and then I'll start updating this one more regularly.
> 
> Don't forget to review on your way out!


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